Burris v. Krooss

563 S.W.2d 875, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 3025
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 16, 1978
DocketNo. 5099
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 563 S.W.2d 875 (Burris v. Krooss) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burris v. Krooss, 563 S.W.2d 875, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 3025 (Tex. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinion

WALTER, Justice.

Harold Burris filed suit against Eva Krooss seeking damages for the cutting of certain shade trees on his property. Burris alleged Krooss negligently failed to ascertain the location of the boundary line dividing her property from Burris’ property. After the jury’s verdict favoring Burris, the court granted Krooss’ motion for judgment non obstante veredicto and Burris has appealed. We reverse and render.

[877]*877In October, 1975, John Lerette asked Krooss for permission to cut down some trees on her property. Lerette planned to sell the trees as firewood. Krooss authorized Lerette to cut down “a load or two” of trees. The property was heavily wooded and there was no evidence of a fence or other landmarks indicating where the boundary line was other than the surveyor’s “cuts” and “marks”. Lerette’s brother, Henry Lerette, drove Lerette and Krooss’ minor daughter to the property where the daughter showed Lerette the boundary stakes. Krooss did not accompany Lerette to the property.

In answer to Special Issues, the jury found: (1) trees were cut from Burris’ property on or about October 18, 1975; (2) the trees were cut by an employee of Krooss; (3) Krooss failed to ascertain the location of the property line dividing the property owned by Burris and Krooss for said employee; (4) such failure on the part of Krooss was negligence; (5) such negligence was a proximate cause of the occurrence in question; (6) the market value of Burris’ property immediately before the occurrence was $4,000; and, (7) the market value of Burris’ property immediately after the occurrence was $1,000.

Burris contends Krooss had a duty to ascertain the location of the dividing property line; there was some evidence Krooss failed to ascertain the location of the dividing property line; and, there was some evidence that the negligent failure to ascertain the location of the dividing property line was a proximate cause of the occurrence in question. We agree.

A landowner who intends to have timber cut on his land owes a duty to an adjoining landowner to ascertain the boundary line of the adjoining land with diligence and care. A failure to discharge this duty may subject the landowner to damages, resulting from such failure. Kirby Lumber Corporation v. Karpel, 233 F.2d 373 (5th Cir. 1956); Ripy v. Less, 55 Tex.Civ.App. 492, 118 S.W. 1084 (1909, no writ). When Krooss authorized Lerette to cut trees on her property, she assumed the duty to ascertain for Lerette the boundary lines of her property with diligence and care.

In considering Burris’ evidential points of error, we must apply the following rule stated in Douglass v. Panama, Inc., 504 S.W.2d 776 (Tex.1974):

“ . . .To sustain the action of the trial court in granting the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, it must be determined that there is no evidence upon which the jury could have made the findings relied upon. In acting on the motion, all testimony must be considered in a light most favorable to the party against whom the motion is sought and every reasonable intendment deducible from the evidence is to be indulged in that party’s favor ...”

Henry Lerette testified Krooss did not go to the property with him and his brother. He stated Krooss’ daughter went with them and pointed out the boundary stakes to his brother.

Krooss testified as follows:

“Q Roughly. Approximately, where did you authorize Mr. Lerette to cut down trees?
A On my property.
Q All right, did you give him specific instructions as to where?
A Well, the property, you know, more or less, in the front, the property towards the street, towards Loma View. Simply for the reason the rest of the property is very brushy, a very brushy area.
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Q Okay. Did you have any opportunity to supervise him?
A No, sir.
Q Did you — you just gave him kind of a Carte Blanche authority?
A No, sir. I did send my daughter out to the lot with him to show him where the lot is.
Q Did you notice after you gave him authority to take these particular trees off, or whatever, type of authority you gave him, did you notice, subsequent to that, where he took the trees off?
[878]*878A Not immediately, no.
Q You didn’t—in other words, you didn’t go out and immediately see that he was to take the trees only off of one particular area?
A Right. No, I did not.
Q When did you discover or did you ever check to see?
A I didn’t go out there, no not after the, you know, after he was out there to cut wood.”

The testimony by Krooss and Henry Lerette is some evidence of probative force that Krooss failed to discharge her duty with diligence and care. The jury could properly conclude from the evidence that a person of ordinary prudence in the exercise of ordinary care could have reasonably foreseen the probable consequence of failing to ascertain the location of the boundary line. The issue on proximate cause is, therefore, supported by some evidence.

Burris also contends the proper measure of damages is the difference between the fair market value of the land before and after the occurrence in question, and there is some evidence to support the jury’s findings on damages. We agree.

The proper measure of damages for fallen trees was explained in Cummer-Graham Co. v. Maddox, 155 Tex. 284, 285 S.W.2d 932 (1956):

“The rule generally is, we think, as stated in Grell v. Lumsden, 206 Iowa 166, 220 N.W. 123, 125:
‘ * * * If the thing destroyed or removed from real property, although a part thereof, has a value which can be accurately measured or ascertained without reference to the soil on which it stands, the recovery is the value of the thing thus destroyed or removed, and not the difference in the value of the land. * * *.’
On the other hand if the trees have only a value with reference to the land such as for the purpose of shade or ornamentation or if they be fruit trees or young growth which has no market value, then the proper measure of damage would be the difference in the value of the land before and after . . . ”

In Cummer-Graham Co., a timber deed to soft wood timber was conveyed to Cummer-Graham Co. who subsequently cut certain elm and gum timber not included in the timber deed. The Supreme Court held the proper measure of damages to be the stumpage value of the timber. The court recognized that under some circumstances a landowner’s damages in a tree-cutting case would be measured by depreciation in market value of the land.

In Hamilton v. Fant, 422 S.W.2d 495

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Bluebook (online)
563 S.W.2d 875, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 3025, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burris-v-krooss-texapp-1978.