Opinion ID: 2498928
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Damages for Violation of Paragraph 8(q)

Text: [¶ 40] As stated above, damages are designed to put the plaintiff in the same position as if the contract had been performed. See Capshaw, ¶ 10, 44 P.3d at 52. With respect to the as-built survey violation, this means that the damages must be such as will compensate Berthel for Rockies Express' failure to provide an as-built survey showing the contour measurements required by Paragraph 8(q). [¶ 41] In support of its damages claim, Berthel submitted a quote from its engineering expert, James Murphy, detailing the tasks required to complete an as-built survey, and the costs associated with each of those tasks. The total cost calculated by Murphy was $75,284.65, and this was the amount of damages demanded by Berthel. [¶ 42] The district court accepted the Murphy quote, but modified it in some respects. The district court found Murphy's proposal to survey the depth of the pipeline by digging 245 holes down to the pipeline using heavy equipment to be a dangerous and unreasonable means to determine the pipeline depth. It thus subtracted from the Murphy quote all costs associated with that task and added in the costs of an alternative, safer method of determining the pipeline depth. Based on these adjustments, the district court awarded damages for the as-built survey breach in the amount of $42,820.00. [¶ 43] We find the district court's award clearly erroneous. Our concern with the award, and with the quote on which it was based, is the emphasis of each on providing an as-built survey that details the precise depth of the pipeline along the easement. Based on our interpretation above, Paragraph 8(q) did not require Rockies Express to provide Berthel with an as-built survey detailing the depth of the pipeline, and costs to provide that level of detail are therefore not a proper element of damages. [¶ 44] Unlike the damages for rock removal, the damages for the as-built survey violation are itemized, allowing us to make a damages calculation that accurately fits our interpretation of Paragraph 8(q). The Murphy quote is broken down into tasks relating to data gathering and preparation of the final drawings. The data gathering tasks are in turn broken down further into those relating to the contour measurements (required under our interpretation) and the depth measurements (not required under our interpretation). We are thus able to extract the costs of the required tasks and recalculate the damages to which Berthel is entitled. [¶ 45] Task I of the Murphy quote gathers the data necessary to determine the ground distance, that is, the required contours for calculating the full distance covered by the pipeline. The total cost of this task is $7,200.00. The final task of the Murphy quote is the preparation of a final as-built plan and profile map. The cost associated with this task is $4,535.00. The remaining tasks under the quote relate to excavations to determine depth, which we have deemed unnecessary. Totaling the task costs of $7,200.00 and $4,535.00 would thus conclude our calculation, but for the trial testimony of James Murphy. [¶ 46] During the trial on damages, Mr. Murphy, on cross-examination, testified that when he provided his affidavit on the adequacy of the as-built survey given to Berthel, and when he calculated his quote to prepare an as-built survey, Berthel had only provided him with one page of the eight-page survey submitted by Rockies Express. He did not have the first seven pages of the survey data. He further testified that the data provided in the first seven pages of the survey was sufficient to allow the preparation of an as-built survey detailing the contour footage, without the costs associated with Task I in his quote: Q.    In your affidavit you said in order to calculate the contour footage of the pipeline as constructed you would need as-built alignment sheets, and those are the measurements that are provided in the first seven pages of Exhibit R? A. I would agree with that. Q. So that $7,200 on the second two pages on the as-built drawings, that $7,200 is exactlywhat that is for is to establish the distance along the ground? A. Partially. Q. The contour footage? A. Partially as it is discussed in Task 1, that is correct. What you need to realize is Task 1 carries over to Task 2 because we locate the test pit locations under Task 1. If we didn't have to determine the horizontal or the ground distance we would still have to go out and stake the test pits every hundred feet and at the ground breaks. It may not take quite the level of accuracy that Task 1 required, so I could certainly say that some of that costs would stillunder Task 1 would still be required. How much of it may or may not be, I'd have to put a pencil to it. Q. Sobut had you had thatall of Exhibit R at the time you prepared this you would have been able to see exactly what the contour footage was? A. Correct. That certainly would have affected the costs of Task 1. I'm not going to deny that. [¶ 47] Mr. Murphy's only apparent reservation with regard to subtracting the Task I costs from the quote was his need for the Task I ground data to facilitate Task II, the gathering of depth data. Because, again, the gathering of depth data is not a proper element of damages, and the original as-built survey contained all the data Mr. Murphy required to complete the as-built survey showing the contour measurements, we must subtract the costs of Task I, $7,200.00, from the damages calculation. [¶ 48] We conclude that an award of $4,535.00, Mr. Murphy's cost to prepare the final as-built plan and profile map, will place Berthel in the position it would have been had Rockies Express complied with the requirements of Paragraph 8(q).