Lee v. Boise Development Co.

122 P. 851, 21 Idaho 461, 1912 Ida. LEXIS 129
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 16, 1912
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 122 P. 851 (Lee v. Boise Development Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lee v. Boise Development Co., 122 P. 851, 21 Idaho 461, 1912 Ida. LEXIS 129 (Idaho 1912).

Opinion

SULLIYAN, J.

This action was brought to recover for the wrongful and unlawful entry on certain lands alleged to have been leased by the plaintiffs and the destruction of certain crops growing on said land and for tearing down and destroying the dwelling-house of the plaintiffs situated on said premises, and the destruction and conversion of certain [464]*464personal property, which damage is alleged to amount to $1,500, and judgment is prayed for that amount.

The defendants answered the plaintiffs by denying many of the material allegations thereof, and also filed a cross-complaint, wherein it is alleged, among other things, that on the 27th day of July, 1910, A. R. Smith, one of the defendants, purchased the premises referred to of Mary E. Ridenbaugh, and thereafter sold the same to the Boise Development Company, a corporation, defendant; that plaintiffs held said land under a verbal lease with Mrs. Ridenbaugh; that under said lease the plaintiffs were notified to harvest their crops by September 1st, 1910, and deliver possession of said premises to the Boise Development Company; that plaintiffs neglected and refused to do so; that it was the object and purpose 'of said Development Company to construct streets, alleys, sidewalks, curbings and grade said lands and to lay same off in town lots for the purpose of sale thereof, and building thereon, and that plaintiffs were fully informed of that fact; that the said company commenced work on said premises and'on October 12, 1910, served written notice on the plaintiffs to remove from and vacate said premises within three days, which they, refused to do, and continued in possession until the 10th of November, 1910, and continued to obstruct the work carried on by said defendants; that all of said acts of the plaintiffs were done with willful intent to delay and damage defendants ; that the sheds and buildings on said premises were disreputable in appearance and filthy and unsanitary as to condition, and rendered it impossible for the defendants to display said property to prospective purchasers or to improve said property so as to stimulate the sale thereof; that by reason of such obstructions the said company has been unable to use its employees and those in'its service to advantage, and has been greatly damaged in the sum of $5,000, and prays for judgment for that sum.

The plaintiffs answered said cross-complaint, putting in issue all the material allegations thereof. Upon the issues thus made the cause was tried by the court with a jury and a verdict was returned in favor of the plaintiffs in the sum of [465]*465$1.100, and judgment was entered for that amount on said verdict. Thereafter the plaintiffs remitted all of said judgment in excess of $750, and consented that the judgment be reduced to $750. Said judgment was entered on March 21, 1911. The appeal is from the judgment, and was taken on November 3, 1911, more than sixty days after the entry of judgment.

Several errors are assigned in appellants’ brief.

(1) The first involves the action of the court in rejecting certain evidence offered by defendants. The appellants introduced a civil engineer as a witness on their behalf and were proceeding to examine him in regard to the construction work in the way of streets, alleys, road, grading, etc., which had been done by the defendants on said tract of land, and that evidence was objected to by respondents’ counsel on the ground that such evidence was not a matter of defense, and on the further ground that the cross-complaint did not state facts sufficient to state a cause of action against the plaintiffs. On the first ground stated, the court overruled said objection, and held that said question was merely preliminary. The second objection was also overruled and the court held that the cross-complaint did state a cause, of action, but that the evidence on the cross-complaint would be limited to the value, use and occupation of said premises, or the mesne profits received by the plaintiffs, and to the recovery for such use and occupation between the 15th of October, 1910, and the 10th of November, 1910, and that no evidence would be admitted as to improvements being made by the defendants or as to the value of the premises for the purposes for which the defendants were using them or as to any sales or speculative profits anticipated to be realized by the defendants. The defendants thereupon offered to prove as a part of their direct case, under the cross-complaint, that their loss was due to the plaintiffs’ occupaucy of the premises with their gardens and crops and their obstruction to defendants’ operations, and consisted in loss of money paid for labor used in carrying on such operations and the loss due to the fact that certain of [466]*466the real estate could not be properly improved to make it salable while the plaintiffs held possession.

The court evidently took the view that under the allegations of the cross-complaint the appellants could only recover general damages and we think that view is correct. General damages are such as the law implies and presumes to have occurred from the wrong complained of, while special damages are such as actually result from the commission of the wrong but are not such a necessary result that they will be implied by law. (13 Cyc. 13.)

It is alleged in the cross-complaint that the defendants expended a large sum of money in improving the unoccupied portions of said premises, but it is not alleged that they lost the money so expended or that they were in any way damaged by reason of such expenditure, either by loss of customers or profits or otherwise. It is also alleged that the defendants expended a large amount of money in advertising the sale of the lots platted on said premises and in transporting to and from said premises prospective purchasers and builders; but it is nowhere alleged that they lost any sales or that they suffered any damages therefrom. The cross-complaint does not specifically allege any special damages either in loss of trade or in loss of time or in loss of money. As we understand the cross-complaint, defendants failed to specifically allege any special loss by reason thereof outside of the allegations of general damages.

It is also alleged in the cross-complaint as follows:

‘£ That by reason of the obstruction of the operations of said defendants, by reason of plaintiffs’ failure to deliver possession of, and to vacate and remove from said premises, by reason of the occupancy of said sheds and buildings upon said premises, and by reason of plaintiffs’ maintenance of said sheds and buildings thereon, the defendants have been greatly damaged in the sum of five thousand dollars.”

It is not alleged in that paragraph of the cross-complaint that the defendants lost any time, money or profits, either direct or speculative. Under a general allegation of damage, the plaintiff may prove and recover only general damages, and [467]*467damages not necessarily accruing from the act complained of are special and must be plead with particularity, and must show the facts out of which they arise or they cannot be recovered. This is required in order to prevent surprise on the defendant, or, in this case, on the plaintiff. The court did not err in refusing to permit the appellants to prove special damages under the allegations of the cross-complaint.

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Bluebook (online)
122 P. 851, 21 Idaho 461, 1912 Ida. LEXIS 129, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lee-v-boise-development-co-idaho-1912.