Title: Leach v. Biscayne Oil and Gas Co., Inc.
Citation: 289 S.E.2d 197
Docket Number: 15293
State: west-virginia
Issuer: west-virginia Supreme Court
Date: March 19, 1982

289 S.E.2d 197 (1982) Marvin LEACH v. BISCAYNE OIL AND GAS CO., INC. No. 15293. Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. March 19, 1982. *198 Earley, Bailey, Pfalzgraf &amp; Seufer and John S. Bailey, Jr., Parkersburg, for appellant. James M. Powell, Parkersburg, for appellee. HARSHBARGER, Justice: Marvin Leach sued Biscayne Oil and Gas Company for compensatory and punitive damages he suffered when Biscayne trespassed on his Wood County property, constructed a road, leveled trees, erected oil storage tanks, natural gas regulators and other oil and gas paraphernalia. Gas constantly seeped from the installation and soon there was a fire that damaged more trees. A jury awarded Leach $8,200 compensatory and $41,800 punitive damages. The trial court granted Biscayne's motion to set aside both verdicts and awarded a new trial because the verdict was not supported by the evidence, was contrary to law and resulted from passion and prejudice. He decided he erred in his jury charge, and that plaintiff's counsel's closing argument that punitive damages could be three to five times the amount of a compensatory award was error. We agree with his conclusion about his instruction. Plaintiff's counsel adequately presented his trespass evidence, but submitted only minimal proof to support any damage assessment. In Jarrett v. E. L. Harper &amp; Son, Inc., W.Va. 235 S.E.2d 362 (1977), we redefined the proper measure of damages for injury to realty: Leach's expert testified that the land could be repaired by reshaping and revegetating at an estimated cost of $2,185.00. Injuries to cut and removed trees were irreparable, so the trial court properly instructed that damages were the market values of trees destroyed, our rule found in Darnell v. Wilmoth, 69 W.Va. 704, 72 S.E. 1023 (1911): "For the cutting of growing timber having no more than ordinary commercial value, a proper measure of damages is the market value on the stump." Id., Syllabus Point 3. A property owner may testify about the value of his destroyed property. Royal Furniture v. City of Morgantown, W.Va., 263 S.E.2d 878 (1980); West Virginia Department of Highways v. Sickles, W.Va., 242 S.E.2d 567 (1978). The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, applying West Virginia law, found an owner's testimony about value of his destroyed timber admissible. Justice v. Pennzoil Co., 598 F.2d 1339 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 967, 100 S. Ct. 457, 62 L. Ed. 2d 380 (1979). Here, *199 Leach testified that destroyed trees were full grown hardwoods, but he did not testify nor introduce other evidence about their size, circumference, potential uses or sales of similar trees in his area. We think better practice, especially if a non-expert owner's testimony is used, requires minimally that average dimensions of destroyed trees and potentials for marketability be proved. The jury was properly instructed to consider damages for annoyance and inconvenience. Jarrett, supra, Syllabus Point 3. But Judge Black was correct to set aside the verdict because his instruction on damages for fire-injured trees was flawed. He told the jury only that it should ascertain their market value. The rule, however, is: A new trial is required on this point. Leach's closing argument on punitive damages included: No objection was made to this argument during the trial, but Biscayne argued and Judge Black agreed that it was error, entitling defendant to another trial. The court properly instructed its jury that punitive or exemplary damages must bear a reasonable proportion to compensatory damages. We recently reiterated that punitive damages are to punish a wrongdoer and deter further reckless conduct by him and others. Bond v. City of Huntington, W.Va., 276 S.E.2d 539, 544-46 (1981); Hensley v. Erie Insurance Co., W.Va., 283 S.E.2d 227 (1981). In 1918 we recognized that: A $41,800 punitive damage verdict indicates this jury found Biscayne Oil's spirit malignant and attempted to deter it and others from acting in kind again. A jury's assessment should not be casually disregarded. See Addair v. Majestic Petroleum Co., Inc., W.Va., 232 S.E.2d 821 (1977). Other courts have followed this principle. The Supreme Court of Idaho sustained a $12,500 punitive damage award accompanying *200 a $350 compensatory verdict against a car dealer who knowingly turned an odometer back 7,000 miles. Idaho follows the "reasonable relation" rule, but its court has reasoned: Indiana's Supreme Court remitted $7,500 of a $15,000 punitive damage award, leaving extant a sum that was still five times the $1,500 compensatory damages. Hibschman Pontiac, Inc. v. Batchelor, 266 Ind. 310, 362 N.E.2d 845 (1977). The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, applying Pennsylvania law, sustained $60,590.96 in punitive damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress, an amount six times greater than the compensatory damages. Chuy v. Philadelphia Eagles Football Club, 595 F.2d 1265, 1277-1279 (3d Cir. 1979) (en banc). The Tenth Circuit allowed a six-to-one ratio in Big O Tire Dealers, Inc. v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., 561 F.2d 1365 (10th Cir. 1977), cert. dismissed, 434 U.S. 1052, 98 S. Ct. 905, 54 L. Ed. 2d 805 (1979). Compensatory damages for an oil spill were assessed at $60,000, but the Second Circuit had no difficulty sustaining punitives of $200,000: Most analogous of all cases we have found is Leimgruber v. Claridge Associates, Ltd., 73 N.J. 450, 375 A.2d 652 (1977). It also involved a trespass to trees. Defendant, building a large apartment complex, cut tops off eleven trees on plaintiff's property. The trees were mutilated but not killed. The trespass was intentional and in wanton, wilful disregard of plaintiff's property rights, and the trial judge, sitting without a jury, awarded $1,700 compensatory and $16,500 punitive damages. New Jersey's Intermediate Appellate Court thought the punitive award "clearly excessive" and reduced it to $5,000, but the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously reversed and reinstated the trial court's judgment. Chief Justice Hughes wrote: Biscayne's egregious conduct and blatant disregard of Leach's property rights certainly justified a jury verdict of $41,800 punitive damages. Defendant is indeed entitled to a new trial, however. Affirmed.