Laurin v. DeCarolis
Constr. Co., Inc.
372
Facts: The plaintiffs bought a tract of land from the
defendant. Before the transaction was
closed, the defendant took gravel from the property without permission. The plaintiffs sued for breach of contract
and were awarded the market value of the gravel.
Procedural Posture: The case was appealed and reversed by an intermediate
appeals court on the basis that the damages weren’t consistent with contract
damages, but with a “conversion” tort.
They reduced the damages to the amount by which the property’s value was
reduced by removing the gravel. This
ruling was appealed in turn.
Issue: On what basis should damages be awarded to the
plaintiff?
Rule: The defendant ought to be liable for the fair market
value of the materials removed.
Analysis: The court says it is not sufficient to award damages based on how much less the property is worth. They give as an example chopping down trees from a timber tract. Cutting these trees down might not reduce the value of the property, but the trees themselves may be worth a lot, and the plaintiff is entitled to that value (less the cost of chopping the trees down) because that’s profit the plaintiff should have had the opportunity to make.
Conclusion: The court ruled that the lower court hadn’t determined
damages correctly. It remanded the case
to recalculate the damages.