Opinion ID: 2427727
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the kraft application for writ

Text: The award of actual damages in favor of Kraft is based entirely on the jury response to Special Issue No. 8, which read as follows: SPECIAL ISSUE NO. 8 What sum of money, if any, if paid now in cash, do you find from a preponderance of the evidence would fairly and reasonably compensate Karl E. Kraft for the permanent damage, if any, to his 21.27-acre tract of land proximately caused by the diversion of surface water, if any, from Vicksburg Subdivision onto Plaintiff's tract between April 1, 1972, and October 27, 1975, but not thereafter? The answer given by the jury, $38,991.10, was the exact sum given by an expert witness for Kraft as the amount his land had diminished in value because of the drainage system. The charge of the court defined the terms permanent damage and market value; however, the latter term was not included in the special issue. The question before us is whether this issue, which was submitted over the objections of Langford and the Developers, properly stated the applicable measure of damages. The Court of Civil Appeals held that it did not and we agree. The type of compensation to be awarded for an injury to real property is not invariable, but will depend upon the nature of the injury. See, Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc. v. Anderson, 524 S.W.2d 681 (Tex.1975); see, generally, 25 C.J.S. Damages § 84 (1966). Permanent injuries give rise to a cause of action for permanent damages, normally measured as the difference in the value of the property before and after the injury. See, e. g., Fort Worth & D. C. Ry. Co. v. Hogsett, 67 Tex. 685, 4 S.W. 365 (1887). Temporary injuries, on the other hand, give rise to a cause of action for temporary damages, the proper measure of which is the amount of damages which have accrued during the continuance of the injury covered by the period for which the action is brought. Lone Star Gas Co. v. Hutton, 58 S.W.2d 19, 21 (Tex.Comm.App. 1933, holding approved). Stated differently, the proper measure of damages for a temporary injury to real property is the amount necessary to place the owner of the property in the same position he occupied prior to the injury. The character of an injury as either permanent or temporary is determined by its continuum. Permanent injuries are those which are constant and continuous, not intermittent or recurrent. Atlas Chemical Industries, Inc. v. Anderson, supra . Temporary injuries are those which are not continuous but are sporadic and contingent upon some irregular force such as rain. Id. Another characteristic of a temporary injury is the ability of a court of equity to enjoin the injury causing activity. An injury which can be terminated cannot be a permanent injury. The concepts of temporary and permanent injuries are mutually exclusive and damages for both may not be recovered in the same action. Lone Star Gas Co. v. Hutton, supra, at 21. The injuries alleged by Kraft in the present case possess only the characteristics of temporary injury and none of the characteristics of permanent harm. The flow of water through the storm drainage system depends upon the fortuitous event of rain and is not continuous. Further, Kraft has prayed for and received injunctive relief as well as permanent damages. While it is permissible to plead for alternative relief in a case such as this, the applicable rule has been well stated by Professor Dobbs: Actually, a great deal of the problem would be solved or avoided if plaintiffs in all these suits recognized the merger of law and equity and sought injunctions as well as damages. If the injunction issues to forbid further invasion, that fact alone will normally establish that the invasion is temporary rather than permanent and damages can thus be appropriately limited. On the other hand, if the injunction is denied, or if it proves unenforceable, and if the condition or operation meets the test of physical permanency, permanent damages can be awarded appropriately, since denial of the injunction assures legal permanency. D. Dobbs, Handbook on the Law of Remedies, § 5.4 at 342-3 (1973). The injury here alleged and established was altogether of a temporary nature and, as held by the Court of Civil Appeals, the trial court erred in submitting the issue on permanent damages over the objection of Langford and the Developers.