Lunda v. Matthews

613 P.2d 63, 46 Or. App. 701, 1980 Ore. App. LEXIS 2898
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJune 23, 1980
Docket22488, CA 15104
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 613 P.2d 63 (Lunda v. Matthews) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lunda v. Matthews, 613 P.2d 63, 46 Or. App. 701, 1980 Ore. App. LEXIS 2898 (Or. Ct. App. 1980).

Opinion

*703 RICHARDSON, P.J.

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of plaintiffs, private landowners, granting damages and injunctive relief in an action for trespass and private nuisance against defendants who operate a cement plant. The evidence viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, who are aided by the verdict, shows the following.

In 1959 plaintiffs purchased their property in a residential/recreational area of LaPine. In 1970, after husband retired, they built a home there and began using the property as their residence. One of the plaintiffs’ purposes in moving to LaPine was the clean air. In 1976 defendants constructed the LaPine Readi-Mix Plant about 180 feet north of plaintiffs’ house in an area zoned M-2 Industrial. To the north of defendants’ plant lies a pole mill where bark is peeled from log poles. 1

In 1978 defendants added a cement storage silo to their plant. After the silo was constructed defendants began to receive large shipments of dry cement rather than the bagged cement they previously used. The dry cement shipments arrive about every 10 days by tractor-trailer. Deliveries are often at night. The dry cement is blown into the silo from the trailer. As it is blown in, clouds of cement dust permeate the air. This dust is so thick that one cannot see the outline of trees in the area. During the pumping process, vibrators shake the cement down inside the silo. If this process fails, a jack hammer is used to pound on the sides of the silo to pack the cement. The unloading process is very noisy. It takes about two hours to unload a trailer.

The plant begins its operations around 7:00 a.m. but has been known to start as early as 4:00 a.m. Usually five truckloads of ready-mix concrete are carried out of the plant each day. Trucks loaded with *704 gravel also make deliveries to the plant. The gravel is dumped onto the ground and then is loaded into the cement trucks to be mixed with the cement and water.

These various trucks all pass directly by plaintiffs’ residence, raising dust which blows into plaintiffs’ home. The defendants generally do not water the access road until after 5:30 in the evening when the delivery trucks are washed out. The Department of Environmental Quality contacted defendants after plaintiffs lodged a complaint and cautioned defendants to water more frequently.

Plaintiffs’ first count in trespass complained that the cement dust, road dust, noise pollution and diesel fumes emanating from defendants’ readi-mix plant interfered with the exclusive possession of their land. They also complained that defendants’ use of their property unreasonably interfered with the use and enjoyment of plaintiffs’ property and created a private nuisance. In addition to diminished land values, plaintiffs sought damages for inconvenience, annoyance, physical discomfort and mental distress. They also sought injunctive relief.

The jury returned a verdict for $5,000 damages and the court, by way of injunction, required defendants to water the roadway and plant area traversed by motor vehicles to the extent necessary to control the dust, and enjoined defendants from operating the plant or receiving deliveries between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. and all day on Sunday.

Defendants, in their first assignment of error, contend that there was no evidence of either intentional or negligent trespass and that their motion for directed verdict on Count I should have been granted. Where defendants appeal from the denial of a motion for directed verdict we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs. City of Rogue River v. DeBoer, 288 Or 485, 488, 605 P2d 697 (1980).

*705 Deposit on a person’s land of airborne particles emanating from a neighboring plant has been held to be an invasion of that person’s right to the exclusive possession of land. E.g., Reynolds Metals Company v. Martin, 337 F2d 780 (9th Cir 1964); Renken v. Harvey Aluminum (Incorporated), 226 F Supp 169 (D Or 1963); Smejkal v. Empire Lite-Rock, Inc., 274 Or 571, 579, 547 P2d 1363 (1976); Martin et ux v. Reynolds Metals Co., 221 Or 86, 342 P2d 790 (1959), cert den 362 US 918 (1960). Whether the invasion of plaintiffs’ property interest is direct or indirect is immaterial in determining whether the invasion is trespassory. Martin v. Union Pacific Railroad, 256 Or 563, 474 P2d 739 (1970); Davis v. Georgia-Pacific, 251 Or 239, 445 P2d 481 (1968).

A trespass may arise from an intrusion upon plaintiffs’ land which is either intentional, negligent or the result of ultrahazardous conduct. Martin v. Union Pacific Railroad, supra. Intentional is used in this context to mean that the acts setting in motion the invasion were done with knowledge that a trespass would result and not that the acts were done for the specific purpose of causing a trespass or injury. Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. Vale, Oregon Irrigation Dist., 253 F Supp 251, 258 (D Or 1966); Fairview Farms, Inc. v. Reynolds Metals Company, 176 F Supp 178, 184 (D Or 1959); cf. Phillips Ranch, Inc. v. Banta, 273 Or 784, 791, 543 P2d 1035 (1975); Jacobson v. Crown Zellerbach, 273 Or 15, 19, 539 P2d 641 (1975); Gronn et ux v. Rogers Construction, Inc., 221 Or 226, 231, 350 P2d 1086 (1960); cf., Hudson v. Peavey Oil Company, 279 Or 3, 6, 566 P2d 175 (1977). There is evidence that the defendants knew that dust, debris, fumes and operational noise invaded plaintiffs’ property and interfered with their exclusive possession. 2

*706 Defendants, in their second assignment, contend that their motion for directed verdict on plaintiffs’ count for private nuisance should have been granted.

To constitute an actionable private nuisance the defendants’ interference with plaintiffs’ use and enjoyment of their land must be both substantial and unreasonable, Jewett v. Deerhorn Enterprises, Inc., 281 Or 469, 575 P2d 164 (1978).

The cement plant produced clouds of dust which covered everything in sight, substantial noise at all hours, and noxious fumes. Defendants do not seriously contend that their interference with plaintiffs’ use and enjoyment of their land was not substantial. Rather, they appear to argue that it was reasonable. They contend first that their invasion was not intentional. We have disposed of this argument above. In any event, as defendants recognize in their own brief, nuisance refers to the interest invaded and not to any type of culpable conduct. Mikan v. Valley Publishing, Inc., 38 Or App 287, 289, 589 P2d 1201 (1979). They next argue that the operation of their plant was not unreasonable because it was operated as any other cement plant. This argument was rejected in Kramer v. Sweet, 179 Or 324, 328, 169 P2d 892 (1946). They also contend that the use of their property was reasonable as a matter of law because it was in an area zoned for that type of business.

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Bluebook (online)
613 P.2d 63, 46 Or. App. 701, 1980 Ore. App. LEXIS 2898, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lunda-v-matthews-orctapp-1980.