Eastman v. Jennings-McRae Logging Co.

138 P. 216, 69 Or. 1, 1914 Ore. LEXIS 306
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 20, 1914
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 138 P. 216 (Eastman v. Jennings-McRae Logging Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eastman v. Jennings-McRae Logging Co., 138 P. 216, 69 Or. 1, 1914 Ore. LEXIS 306 (Or. 1914).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Ramsey

delivered tbe opinion of tbe court.

This is an action to recover damages for tbe destruction of timber by fire, alleged to bave been caused by tbe willful and negligent acts and omissions of tbe defendant. Tbe defendant is a corporation, and, when [3]*3the damages claimed are alleged to have occurred, it owned and possessed real property situated in section 23, township 7 north, range 5 west of the Willamette meridian, and was engaged in cutting from said premises for the purpose of sale sawlogs, and in so doing employed a large number of men. The plaintiff, at the same time, owned and possessed the south half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the southeast quarter of section 35 in township 7 north, range 5 west of the Willamette meridian.

The complaint alleges that, at all times mentioned in the complaint, there was standing and growing timber on the premises of the plaintiff, above described, consisting of, among other things, fir and cedar, and that the cedar standing and growing on said premises, as aforesaid, was of the probable and reasonable value of $3,000, and that the fir standing and growing on said premises, as aforesaid, was of the probable value of $1,500. The complaint alleges, also, that on or about August 30,1911, and while so engaged in cutting logs, the defendant kindled and started a fire on its own premises above described, and did thereafter and on or about the same day willfully, carelessly and negligently suffer and permit the said fire to burn and smolder, and carelessly, willfully and negligently suffer and permit the said fire so started on its own premises to escape from its own lands to and upon the lands of the plaintiff, and did thereby willfully, carelessly and negligently burn and destroy any and all of the standing cedar timber upon the premises of the plaintiff to and of the value of $3,000, and did damage the standing fir timber upon the premises of the plaintiff to and of the value of $1,000, and by reason thereof the plaintiff has been and is now suffering actual damages of and to the sum of $4,000. The said complaint alleges, also, that the said fire, which [4]*4so burned and destroyed tbe property of the plaintiff, as aforesaid, was the result of the carelessness, willfulness ■ and negligence of the defendant herein, and by reason thereof the said defendant is liable to the plaintiff for double damages therefor, said double damages amounting to $8,000. The complaint alleges, also, that the defendant on or about August 30, 1911, kindled and set a fire on its own said premises, and did willfully, carelessly and negligently suffer and permit the said fire to burn and spread, and did willfully, carelessly and negligently communicate the said fire to and upon the plaintiff’s said lands, and did willfully, carelessly and negligently burn and destroy the plaintiff’s said property, to the plaintiff’s actual damage in the sum of $4,000, and by reason thereof the plaintiff is entitled to have and recover from the defendant double damages, amounting to $8,000, contrary to the form of the statute. The answer admits that the defendant is a corporation; that the plaintiff is the owner and possessed of said real property; that there was growing on the lands claimed by the plaintiff some fir and cedar timber; that the said cedar was worth not to exceed $100, and said fir was worth not exceeding $100; that the defendant was engaged in cutting and removing logs from its premises, and in so doing employed a considerable number of men, and that the defendant owned the real premises referred to in the complaint. The answer denied all other allegations of the complaint.

The jury found a general verdict for the plaintiff in the sum of $1,400. The jury found, also, specially, that said .fire did not escape through the willfulness of the defendant, but that it did escape through the negligence of the defendant. The court below, when the trial began, required the plaintiff to elect whether he would proceed under the common law or under the [5]*5statute, and the plaintiff elected to proceed under the statute.

Before the trial began, but after the filing of the answer, the defendant presented a demurrer to the complaint alleging that the complaint does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action under Chapter 278 of the Laws of 1911. The demurrer was overruled.

1. Without going into details, we will say that we think that the complaint states a cause of action under said statute.

2. L. B. Eastman was called as a witness in his own behalf, and various questions were asked him about the cedar on his land that was destroyed or injured by the fire. Counsel for the defendant objected to all testimony with reference to the value of timber that was down and severed from the land as irrelevant and immaterial. This objection was made to the evidence of this witness and to the evidence of other witnesses that testified in relation to the timber that was destroyed' or injured by the fire. These objections were properly made, and the reasons for the objections were fully stated; but all objections made to proving that the plaintiff was damaged by burning and injuring timber that was dead and lying on the ground at the time it was burned and prior thereto were overruled by the court, and these rulings were duly excepted to.

The witness Eastman testified, inter alia, that the down cedar was better than that standing, and worth as much, and that about a million feet of cedar was burned. He testified, also, that most of it was down and dead, and that there was not enough of live timber to talk about, and that cedar was worth $2.40 per thousand feet. The evidence for the plaintiff shows that nearly all of the timber that was burned or injured by the fire was dead timber and lying on the [6]*6ground at the time that the fire reached it, and prior thereto. All such evidence was objected to, and the 'trial court overruled all such objections, and proper exceptions were taken, and these rulings present one of the main questions for consideration.

The complaint does not allege that any dead timber, or timber lying on the ground, was destroyed or injured. It does not mention any timber, excepting standing and growing timber. Paragraph III of the complaint alleges that at all the times of which the plaintiff complains, “there was standing and growing timber on the premises of the plaintiff * * consisting of * * fir and cedar,” and paragraph V of the complaint alleges, inter alia,’ that the plaintiff “kindled and started a fire on its own premises,” and did negligently “suffer and permit the said fire to burn and smolder, * * and did negligently suffer and permit the fire, so started on its own premises, to escape from its own lands to and upon the lands of the plaintiff, and did thereby * * negligently burn and destroy any and all of the standing cedar timber upon the premises of the plaintiff, * * and did damage to the standing fir upon the premises of the plaintiff,” etc. For the damage caused by burning the standing cedar and the injury to the standing fir, the plaintiff alleges that he was damaged in the sum of $4,000. There is nothing in the complaint indicating that there was on the plaintiff’s premises any dead cedar or fir, or any timber excepting standing and growing timber. There is no allegation that anything but standing and growing timber was damaged by the fire.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
138 P. 216, 69 Or. 1, 1914 Ore. LEXIS 306, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eastman-v-jennings-mcrae-logging-co-or-1914.