Carter v. DONE

2012 UT App 72, 276 P.3d 1127, 704 Utah Adv. Rep. 15, 2012 Utah App. LEXIS 75, 2012 WL 851547

Opinions

OPINION

THORNE, Judge:

1 1 Steve and Clara Done appeal from the district court's judgment against them and in favor of Brian W. and Megan B. Carter. The Carters had sought the removal of fill dirt that had been placed on their property during construction on the Dones' adjacent lot. The district court balanced the equities between the parties and awarded the Carters $25,000 in damages in lieu of an injunction requiring the Dones to remove the dirt. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

12 The Carters and the Dones own adjacent residential lots in the foothills of North Salt Lake, and both parties began constructing homes on their respective lots in late 2003. Both lots were sharply sloped. The Carters raised the level of their lot with fill dirt, and to retain the dirt they constructed a concrete retaining wall running parallel to the property line between their lot and the Dones'. The wall was constructed on the Carters' property, four feet inside the property line.

18 Shortly thereafter, Rock Hard Construction, Inc. (Rock Hard) began construction of the Dones' home on their lot. The Dones also desired to raise the level of their lot, and to this end, Rock Hard subcontracted with Anderson Exeavating, Inc. (Anderson) to perform exeavation and grading and to prepare the property for construction. - The Dones had not arranged for any type of retaining wall to keep their additional fill dirt off of the Carters' property. Nevertheless, in January 2004, Rock Hard arranged for fill dirt to be delivered to and spread out across the Dones' property. During this process, the fill dirt, consisting of soil, rock, and boulders, was pushed up flush against the Carters' retaining wall, burying the wall and the four-foot strip of the Carters' land that lay between the wall and the property line. Dirt and rocks from the Dones' lot were also moved onto the back of the Carters' lot, where the material pushed up against a wall of the Carters partially-constructed home. Who exactly directed that the dirt be moved onto the Carters property, and the degree of knowledge or involvement that the Dones personally had in regard to those actions, were issues of dispute between the parties.

T4 When the Carters discovered the dirt on their property, they sued the Dones, Rock Hard, and Anderson, alleging multiple causes of action and seeking damages and injunctive relief. In September 2004, the district court conducted a hearing on the Carters' request for a temporary injunction, at which the parties reached an agreement that the defendants would remove the dirt from the rear of the Carters' lot so that the Carters could get their home inspected and approved.¹ The dirt at the rear of the Carters' lot was removed in December 2004. The four-foot wide column of dirt against the Carters' retaining wall was not removed, and the Dones finished the construction of their home using the trespassing dirt as lateral support for the fill dirt on their property.

15 In 2006, the Carters settled their claims against both Rock Hard and Anderson. They continued their litigation against the Dones, and the district court conducted a bench trial in October 2009. The only issue that the Carters presented at trial was a request for a mandatory injunetion against the Dones, requiring them to remove the four-foot column of dirt that remained on the Carters' property. At trial, the Carters sought to establish that the Dones were actively involved in placing the dirt on the Carters' property and should be required to remove it. The Dones disputed their involvement in placing the dirt and presented evidence that, were a mandatory injunction to issue, they would have to tear out a substantial amount of construction on their property in order to comply.

T6 The district court found that the Dones had not directed the placement of the dirt onto the Carters' property but had nevertheless allowed the dirt to remain there without otherwise retaining their own property. However, in lieu of an injunction, the district court balanced the equities between the parties and determined that the Carters could be adequately compensated with money damages of $25,000. The court stated that it had reached this figure "in the nature of something of unjust enrichment," based on testimony that the Carters retaining wall had cost $25,000 to construct, that a retaining wall constructed by the Dones would cost at least that much, and that if the Dones "had to dig up the driveway and the RV pad or the side of the garage it ... could be hundreds of thousands of dollars." The Dones appeal from the district court's $25,000 judgment in the Carters' favor.²

ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW

T7 The Dones first argue that they cannot be held liable for trespass against the Carters in light of the district court's factual findings that the Dones themselves did not place dirt on the Carters' property, nor did they direct Rock Hard or Anderson to do so. This issue raises questions of law pertaining to the tort of trespass and the liability of individuals for the tortious acts of their independent contractors. We review such questions for correctness. See, eg., Nielsen v. Spencer, 2008 UT App 375, ¶¶ 10, 12, 196 P.3d 616 (applying a correctness standard to issues that "ask us to interpret and apply the elements of [a] tort").

18 The Dones next raise three related arguments arising from the district court's balancing of the equities and award of money damages in lieu of a mandatory injunction. Specifically, the Dones argue that the money damages award constituted a change to the Carters' election of an equitable remedy, that the court awarded damages based on a cause of action-unjust enrichment-that was neither pleaded nor tried, and that the Carters failed to allege or prove the elements of an unjust enrichment claim. These arguments challenge the district court's interpretation and application of the balancing-of-the-equities doctrine, and we review the district court's actions in this regard for an abuse of discretion. See, eg., Carrier v. Lindquist, 2001 UT 105, ¶ 29, 37 P.3d 1112 ("We review the district court's decision not to apply a balancing of equities test for abuse of discretion."); Papanikolas Bros. Enters. v. Sugarhouse Shopping Ctr. Assocs., 535 P.2d 1256, 1259 (Utah 1975) (stating that where the "balance of injury" test is met, "equity may in its discretion elect not to compel removal").

ANALYSIS

T9 The Dones' arguments challenge both their liability for trespass against the Carters and the district court's remedy for that trespass. We determine that the Dones have not identified reversible error by the district court on either issue, and we affirm the judgment below.

I. The Dones' Liability for Trespass

10 The Done#g' first argument is that they cannot be held liable for trespass because of the district court's factual finding that they did not personally place dirt on the Carters' property or direct Rock Hard or Anderson to place it there. In light of this finding, the Dones argue that trespass liability can exist only against their contractors, Rock Hard and Anderson.

{11 We first examine and attempt to interpret the district court's findings. This task is complicated by the form of the stipulated order adopted by the district court. Despite the factually intensive nature of both the Carters action and the district court's ultimate balancing of the equities, the record does not contain formal findings of fact. Rather, when the Dones objected to the Carters' proposed findings and conclusions, the parties stipulated that the findings of fact would consist of a transeript of the district court's oral ruling. Thus, we are called upon to extract the district court's factual findings from over eight pages of district court tran-seript that includes argument from the parties and sometimes ambiguous responses and commentary from the district court.³

112 Despite the unorthodox nature of the district court's order, we can extract the following factual findings that relate to the district court's decision on liability, The Carters constructed a concrete retaining wall on their property, four feet inside their property line with the Dones. Steve Done had no plan to build a corresponding wall on his property, and while he assumed one would be built, that never happened. Fill dirt was placed on the Dones' property, and a substantial amount of that dirt was moved or spread onto the Carters' property, against the Carters' retaining wall and against the back side of the Carters' house. The dirt against the back of the house was later removed after an agreement was reached by the parties following a temporary injunction hearing.

1 13 The dirt that was up against the Carters' retaining wall, burying the wall and the four-foot strip of the Carters lot that lay outside of it, was not removed. On the critical question of the Dones' involvement in placing the dirt against the wall and onto the Carters' property, the district court found,

Done has never retained his property in front. And I don't think there's any question, there's no issue of fact before me that a-a-you know the evidence before me was that you know Anderson Excavating or the contractors, without direction of Mr. Done, put the dirt where they put the dirt. And although it wasn't Mr. Done who said where the dirt would go, he has left it against that, against their wall into that four foot of property into the other side or between his property and the wall. Those four feet that are still on the Carters property, he's left it there without retaining his property. And he's left it there now without ever retaining his portion.

The district court also found that, in light of the Dones' subsequent construction, the removal of the dirt would now require "[that we basically move buildings, [and] tear up other things," including the Dones' driveway, RV pad, and garage.

%14 The Dones argue that the district court's finding that their contractors placed the trespassing dirt without their direction precludes a finding of trespass liability against them. We agree with the Dones that generally, "the employer of an independent contractor is not liable for physical harm caused to another by an act or omission of the contractor or his servants." See Thompson v. Jess, 1999 UT 22, ¶ 13, 979 P.2d 322 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Restatement (Second) of Torts § 409 (1965). We also agree with the Dones that the district court's factual findings are insufficient to support an application of the "retained control" doctrine, an exception to the general rule that applies where the employer exercises sufficient control over his contractors that he can be held liable for their tortious actions. See Thompson, 1999 UT 22, ¶ 15, 979 P.2d 822. The retained control doctrine requires the employer's "active participation" in the contractor's actions, see Magana v. Dave Roth Constr., 2009 UT 45, ¶ 24, 215 P.3d 148, "such that [the contractor cannot] carry out the injury-causing aspect of the work in its own way," id. 127 (alteration in original) (emphasis and internal quotation marks omitted). Although the Carters assert on appeal that the Dones did retain such control over their contractors, we see nothing in the district court's factual findings to support such a conclusion.

- 15 Thus, under the general rule that employers are not liable for the torts of their contractors, it may be the case that the Dones are not liable for the initial placement of the dirt on the Carters' property.⁴ However, the Dones ignore other aspects of the district court's findings whereby the court determined that the Dones left the trespassing dirt on the Carters' property and failed to ever properly retain their own property. While the Dones may not have had any obligation to remove the dirt from the Carters property if they were not personally responsible for placing it there, they had no right to pin the trespassing column of dirt in place by using it as lateral support for their own property and construction. Yet, this appears to be exactly what happened.

T16 The district court made no express finding that the Dones were using the trespassing dirt column as lateral support for their property, but that fact is readily inferred from the district court's finding that the trespassing dirt remains sandwiched between the Carters' wall and the unrestrained fill dirt on the Dones' property. Without a proper retaining wall on the Dones' property, the only thing holding the Dones' fill dirt in place is the column of trespassing dirt. However, not only did the Dones leave their fill dirt in place, they constructed permanent improvements on their filled-in property, relying on the trespassing dirt on the Carters' property to hold their own fill dirt and improvements in place.

{17 This pinning of the trespassing column of dirt against the Carters retaining wall constitutes a separate and distinct act of trespass by the Dones that is independent of the trespass committed by their contractors. Utah eases have applied the definition of trespass onto land found in section 158 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. See, eg., Walker Drug Co. v. La Sal Oil Co., 972 P.2d 1238, 1243 (Utah 1998); Mueller v. Allen, 2005 UT App 477, ¶ 35, 128 P.3d 18; U.P.C., Inc. v. R.O.A. Gen., Inc., 1999 UT App 303, ¶ 41 n. 5, 990 P.2d 945. Section 158 provides for trespass liability when a person intentionally "enters land in the possession of [anoth-erj, or causes a thing or a third person to do so." Restatement (Second) of Torts § 158(a) (1965). "Enters land" is then defined as follows:

Unless the context otherwise indicates, the phrase "enters land" is for convenience used throughout the Restatement of this Subject to include, not only coming upon land, but also remaining on it, and, in addition, to include the presence upon the land of a third person or thing which the actor has caused to be or to remain there.

Id. emt. b (emphasis added).

118 We see no way of interpreting the result of the Dones' actions in this case as anything other than their causing the trespassing column of dirt to remain in place on the Carters' property. Thus, regardless of whether the Dones could have been held liable for the initial placement of the dirt, their continuing use of the dirt as lateral support pins it in place and causes it "to remain there," and therefore constitutes a trespass. See id. We recognize that the district court did not expressly rely on this part of the definition of trespass in finding the Dones liable. Nevertheless, the district court's findings regarding the Dones' failure to remove the dirt or retain their own property suggest that the court was essentially relying upon this theory to impose liability, particularly in light of its findings that the Dones had not placed the dirt themselves. In any event, the district court's factual findings support the legal conclusion that the Dones continue to trespass against the Carters by causing the trespassing column of dirt to remain in place, and we therefore do not disturb the district court's ultimate conclusion that the Dones were liable for trespass.⁵

II. The District Court's Balancing of the Equities

119 The Dones next raise three interrelated arguments challenging the district court's decision to balance the equities and award $25,000 in damages to the Carters in lieu of an injunction. Each of these arguments is premised on the underlying assumption that the district court actually awarded damages under an unjust enrichment cause of action rather than pursuant to the doctrine of balancing the equities, an assumption that is apparently prompted by the district court's comment that it had calculated the damage award "in the nature of something of unjust enrichment." We disagree with this assumption and affirm the district court's remedy under the balancing-of-the-equities doctrine.

120 The balancing of the equities refers to the "balancing of the opposing parties' interests" that is usually required prior to the granting of a mandatory injunction to remove an encroachment upon property. See Johnson v. Hermes Assocs., Ltd., 2005 UT 82, ¶¶ 31-32, 128 P.3d 1151. Under the balancing-of-the-equities test, once an encroachment has been established and injune-tive relief requiring removal of the encroach ment sought,

the district court may in its discretion elect not to grant an injunction only "where an encroachment does not irreparably injure the plaintiff; was innocently made; the cost of removal would be disproportionate and oppressive compared to the benefits derived from it{;] and [the] plaintiff can be compensated by damages."

Carrier v. Lindguist, 2001 UT 105, ¶ 31, 37 P.3d 1112 (emphasis omitted) (quoting Papanikolas Bros. Enters. v. Sugarhouse Shopping Ctr. Assocs., 535 P.2d 1256, 1259 (Utah 1975)).

121 The district court, in crafting the Carters' remedy against the Dones, expressly referred to Johnson v. Hermes Associates, Ltd., 2005 UT 82, 128 P.3d 1151, and expressly applied the balancing-of-the-equities test. We are unconvinced by the Dones' attempt to characterize the district court's balancing of the equities as a conversion of the Carters' action for injunctive relief into one for monetary damages under an unjust enrichment cause of action. The very nature of the balancing-of-the-equities test presupposes that a party seeking injunctive relief might, in the district court's discretion and in limited cireumstances, be denied the injunctive relief sought and instead be compensated with money damages. See generally Carrier, 2001 UT 105, ¶ 31, 37 P.3d 1112.

122 The Dones do not raise any arguments on appeal that directly challenge the district court's application of the balancing-of-the-equities test. Nevertheless, the Dones raise two issues in their appellate briefing that apply, at least tangentially, to the district court's balancing of the equities, even though the arguments are cast in terms of challenging an award based on an unjust enrichment claim. These arguments are that the district court's award of damages is barred by Carters prior settlements with Rock Hard and Anderson, and that the amount of damages awarded by the district court is unsupported by the evidence. Because these arguments have some application to the district court's award based on the balancing of the equities, we address them on their merits.

A. The Carters Settlements with Rock Hard and Anderson

123 The Dones argue that the district court's award of $25,000 in damages in lieu of injunctive relief constitutes a double recovery for the Carters because the Carters previously entered into settlement agreements with Rock Hard and Anderson. As previously noted, see supra 118 note 5, the Dones' trespass lability for pinning the trespassing dirt in place is separate and distinct from Rock Hard and Anderson's Hability for placing the dirt on the Carters' property to begin with. We see no reason that the Carters should not be able to settle for damages against the contractors for placing dirt on their property and also recover damages against the Dones for causing it to remain there. See generally Dawson v. Board of Educ., 118 Utah 452, 222 P.2d 590, 592 (1950) (Having a single cause of action against more than one tort feasor, an injured party may ... recover judgment or judgments against one or all, but he can have but one satisfaction of the cause of action." (emphasis added)).

T24 However, even assuming that there could be some overlap between the Dones' liability and that of their contractors, the settlements between the Carters and Rock Hard and Anderson are not in the record, and it would be pure speculation on the part of this court to assume the contents of those settlements. The settlements could have been complete or partial, and the Carters claims could conceivably have been settled for nuisance value. We simply do not know. And, although the Dones elicited testimony at trial that the prior settlements had occurred, they do not identify on appeal where in the record they either elicited the amounts of the prior settlements or attempted to do so and were prevented by the district court.⁶

T 25 In sum, the Dones have not convineed us that the Carters' prior settlements with Rock Hard and Anderson preclude or limit the district court's award in this case. The settlements and the damages award appear to be for two separate acts of trespass, and in any event the Dones have failed to establish the amounts of the settlements or present an argument that they were improperly prevented from doing so. Under these circumstances, we decline to disturb the district court's damage award due to the prior settlements.

B. Amount of Damages

26 The Dones also challenge the amount of damages awarded by the district court, arguing that the Carters put on no evidence as to the amount of their damages and that the evidence that was presented at trial does not support the $25,000 that the district court awarded. Under the cireumstances of this case, we are unconvinced by these arguments.

127 As to the Dones' argument that the Carters failed to present evidence of their damages, we observe that the only relief sought by the Carters at trial was injunctive relief requiring the Dones to remove the trespassing dirt. It was the Dones who successfully persuaded the district court that the Carters could obtain adequate legal relief through money damages,⁷ which led the district court to deny the requested injunction and instead award the Carters damages under the balancing-of-the-equities doctrine.⁸

128 Further, in light of our determination that the Dones committed a separate act of trespass by pinning the column of dirt in place on the Carters' property and against their retaining wall, it appears that the Carters were likely entitled to the injunctive relief that they sought. The balancing-of-the-equities doctrine has no application unless a trespass is innocently made. See Carrier v. Lindguist, 2001 UT 105, ¶ 31, 37 P.3d 1112 ("[The benefit of the doctrine of balane-ing the equities ... is reserved for the innocent defendant, who proceeds without knowledge or warning that he is encroaching upon another's property rights." (omission in original) (internal quotation marks omitted)). Although the district court made no fact findings on this subject, it is hard to imagine a set of factual cireumstances whereby the Dones' actions in pinning the trespassing dirt in place with their construction activities could be deemed innocent even if they had no role in placing the dirt to begin with. The Dones were well aware of the Carters' objections to the trespassing dirt, and yet they effectively precluded the Carters or anyone else from removing the dirt by using it as lateral support for their own property and the construction of their improvements.

129 Under these circumstances, the district court likely erred when it denied the Carters their requested injunction because it appears that the Carters presented sufficient evidence to obtain the injunctive relief that they sought. However, we do not disturb the district court's decision to award damages instead of an injunction because the Carters have not asked for that relief on cross-appeal.⁹

1 30 The Dones ask us to vacate the damages award because the Carters did not present sufficient evidence of damages. However, the Carters were not seeking an award of damages at all and were likely entitled to the injunctive relief that they did seek. Further, it was the Dones who persuaded the district court to award damages in lieu of an injunetion. Under these cireumstances, we are not persuaded that the damage award must be vacated merely because the Carters did not present evidence to support this unwanted remedy.

131 Looking at the record as a whole, we also disagree with the Dones' argument that the record does not contain evidence to support the district court's $25,000 damages award. Generally, when a court balances the equities and awards damages in lieu of enjoining a permanent trespass, the measure of damages is the diminution in property value caused by the trespass. See Richard R. Powell, Powell on Real Property § 68.09[2][b], at 68-39 to 68-40 (1998) ("If the court permits a wrongful encroachment to continue, it generally awards permanent damages. Permanent damages are measured by the diminution in value of the victim's land caused by the trespass."). The Dones argue that the only evidence of diminution of the Carters' property value came from the Dones' own expert, who testified that the loss in value was $319. Accordingly, the Dones argue, the Carters damages should be limited to that amount.

132 We disagree that the $319 testimony is the only appropriate evidence of damages in this case. The district court also found that the Carters had spent $25,000 in constructing their retaining wall,¹⁰ and it seems clear from both the district court's ruling and the record on appeal that the Carters' wall remains permanently buried by the trespassing dirt that the Dones have trapped against it. Under these circumstances, where the Dones' actions made it unnecessary for them to construct their own wall, it does not seem unreasonable for the district court to have assessed damages in the amount that it believed the Carters wall to have cost, $25,000.¹¹

133 Even if the cost of the Carters wall was not appropriate evidence of damages in this case, we would not disturb the district court's damages award based on the Dones' arguments. As explained above, it is likely that the Carters were entitled to the injunctive relief that they sought. The district court made a finding on the cost of such an injunction to the Dones, stating that if the Dones "had to dig up the driveway and the RV pad or the side of the garage it ... could be hundreds of thousands of dollars." Thus, it appears that any error in the district court's assessment of damages against the Dones would be harmless in that the damages awarded were still many thousands of dollars less than the amount the Dones would have to spend to comply with an injunction. And, as a practical matter, if we were to reduce the Carters' damages award then we would be obligated to consider their conditional cross-appellate argument that this matter should remanded for the entry of the requested injunetion.

1 34 In sum, both the cireumstances of this case and the manner in which it has been presented to us on appeal are somewhat unique. We nevertheless uphold the district court's damage award. The Dones have not persuaded us that there is any error in the determination of damages, and if they had, then we would need to consider whether the matter should be remanded for further proceedings that would likely result in the entry of a much more costly injunction. However, in light of our analysis above and the Carters' conditional argument on cross-appeal, we elect to simply affirm the district court's award.

CONCLUSION

T35 We determine that the facts of this case, as found by the district court, adequately support the Donesg' personal liability for trespass against the Carters. Although the Dones may or may not be liable for the actual placement of the dirt on the Carters property, their subsequent and continuing use of the dirt for lateral support of their own property and improvements prevents its removal by the Carters and constitutes a separate trespass for which the Dones are liable. We also determine that the Dones have failed to identify any reversible error in the district court's application of the balane- ing-of-the-equities doctrine and the resulting $25,000 damages award. For these reasons, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

T 836 I CONCUR: MICHELE M. CHRISTIANSEN, Judge.

Footnotes

1

. It is unclear whether the parties' agreement addressed only the dirt in the rear of the Carters' lot or whether it also encompassed the dirt against the retaining wall. Neither the temporary restraining order hearing transcript nor any written account of the agreement is part of the record on appeal.

2

. The Carters also initiated a cross-appeal on the ground that the district court had erred by awarding money damages instead of the requested injunction. However, they never filed a cross-appellants' brief pursuing that issue. Instead, their appellees' brief raises the issue conditionally, seeking a remand for the issuance of an injunction only in the event that the $25,000 judgment is reversed. Because we affirm the district court's damages award, we do not consider the Carters' conditional request for injunc-tive relief.

3

. We strongly discourage the practice of relying on a ruling transcript as a substitute for properly drafted findings of fact, at least as that practice was employed in this case. Although the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure allow for oral findings of fact, see Utah R. Civ. P. 52(a) ("It will be sufficient if the findings of fact and conclusions of law are stated orally .. .."), we do not believe that the rules contemplate what occurred here. The district court's oral ruling was clearly not initially intended to serve as the final reference for the court's findings of fact, and it seems equally clear that the Carters and the Dones had substantially different interpretations of the court's oral ruling. The proper venue for resolving the parties' disputes over the meaning of the ruling was in the district court, where the court could clarify exactly what it intended to find and rule. By stipulating to the transcript instead of resolving their interpretation disputes in the district court, the parties have presented us with unclear and ambiguous factual findings with which to sift their appellate arguments. We determine that we can adequately address the parties' arguments despite the flawed method of preserving the findings, but that might not be the case in other circumstances, and we strongly encourage the district court to enter clear findings of fact in the future.

4

. We note that the circumstances of this case might well support liability against the Dones under section 427B of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. That section states,

One who employs an independent contractor to do work which the employer knows or has reason to know to be likely to involve a trespass upon the land of another or the creation of a public or a private nuisance, is subject to liability for harm resulting to others from such trespass or nuisance.

Restatement (Second) of Torts § 427B (1965). The district court's findings recognize that the Dones had no plans for a retaining wall on their property, but that they knew that their contractors would be using fill dirt to raise the level of their property. It seems to us that the use of fill dirt without providing for an appropriate retaining wall, at least under the circumstances of this case, constitutes an action "likely to involve a trespass upon the land of another." However, Utah case law has not expressly adopted section 427B, see Poteet v. White, 2006 UT 63, ¶ 8, 147 P.3d 439, and it was neither argued to nor relied upon by the district court. Accordingly, while we recognize its potential application to the question of the Dones' liability for placing the dirt on the Carters' land, we do not rely on section 427B to establish the Dones' liability in this case.

5

. The Dones also raise an argument that they could not be held liable to the Carters because the Carters had already been made whole through their undisclosed settlements with both Rock Hard and Anderson. See generally Dawson v. Board of Educ., 118 Utah 452, 222 P.2d 590, 592-94 (1950) (discussing the general rule that full recovery for a tort against one tortfeasor bars further recovery for the same tort against others). However, because the Dones' act of trespass in causing the dirt to remain on the Carters' property is separate and distinct from the contractors' trespass in placing it there in the first place, we see little merit to this argument. We further discuss the effect of the settlements in part ILA of this opinion. See infra 1123-25.

6

. The only record citation the Dones have provided us reveals that the Carters did make a relevance objection when Brian Carter was asked whether he had settled his claims against Rock Hard and Anderson. That objection was overruled, and Carter answered, "To some extent." However, the Dones did not then attempt to elicit the amounts of the settlements. Later, during closing arguments, the Dones argued that the Carters' settlements with Rock Hard and Anderson should act as a release for the Dones. The district court responded, "I don't know any of the-the details about that settlement, because there was no discovery done about that, which there clearly could have been done. ... [SJo, how do I take that into consideration if I know nothing about the terms of the settlement?"

7

. When the district court announced its ruling, the Dones' counsel inquired, "you're saying that [the Dones are] going to have to pay despite that [the Carters] were requesting for injunctive relief, you're giving damages in the amount of $25,000 to the Carters{?]" The district court responded,

You convinced me that there was-one of the rulings that I have to make [to award injune-tive relief] is that their legal remedies are inadequate. And you told me that legal remedies were adequate. So yes, they came here with that. I did not award that because I said that legal remedies are adequate and this is what the legal remedy is.

8

. The Dones provide no authority or legal analysis as to who bears the burden of proving damages in such a case, and we decline to undertake that analysis on the Dones' behalf. See generally Spencer v. Pleasant View City, 2003 UT App 379, ¶ 20, 80 P.3d 546 ("It is well established that a reviewing court will not address arguments that are not adequately briefed." (internal quotation marks omitted)).

9

. As noted above, the Carters have sought injunc-tive relief on appeal only as an alternative in the event that the district court's award of monetary damages is not upheld.

10

. On appeal, the Dones assert that Brian Carter's actual testimony was that the wall cost $15,000 to construct, rather than $25,000. This assertion appears to be correct based on the trial transcript. However, during closing arguments, the Dones' counsel represented to the district court that the Carters' testimony was that the wall cost $25,000 to construct. The district court then relied on the $25,000 figure in its oral ruling without objection by the Dones, and both parties then stipulated to the district court's ultimate finding that the wall cost $25,000 to construct. Under these circumstances, the Dones have failed to preserve an argument that the district court erred by using the $25,000 figure, and they also likely invited any such error.

11

. The district court indicated that it was awarding the $25,000 "in the nature of something of unjust enrichment." This comment does suggest that the district court was basing the $25,000 award on the amount of money that the Dones avoided spending, rather than the amount of damage caused to the Carters. We express no opinion on whether that type of analysis is ordinarily appropriate in a balancing-of-the-equities case. Nevertheless, under the facts of this case, damages for the value of the buried wall seem appropriate.