Woodrick v. Wood
Court
of Appeals of
1994
WL 236287.
Johnson,
pp. 125-127
Facts: George and Catherine Wood
owned some land. When George died, he
left a life estate to Catherine, and then a remainder split 50/50 between his
two children. Catherine and Sheridan,
one of the children, wanted to tear down a rotting barn on the property, but
the other child, Patricia, sued to enjoin them from tearing it down on the
theory that it would amount to waste.
The trial court rejected Patricia’s argument, but awarded her $3200, the
value of the barn. Patricia appealed.
Issue: Is the holder of a
remainder interest in some land entitled to stop the life tenant from
destroying buildings there?
Rule: While at common law
anything that altered leased premises in any way constituted waste, under
Analysis: The court finds that even
though tearing down the rotting barn results in gross waste, it does not result in net waste because removing the barn actually increases the value of
the property overall. If there is no
reduction in the net value of the property, then there is no waste and no cause
of action. The court accepts the lower
court’s decision to award the value of the barn to Patricia as fair to both
parties.
Conclusion: The trial court’s decision
is upheld.