Opinion ID: 1911047
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Truck's Diminution in Value

Text: Ample special circumstances take this case out of the time of acceptance provision in SDCL 57A-2-714. Here the measure of damages begins with determining the value of the truck at the time of dispossession. Ricklefs, 531 P.2d at 101; John St. Auto Wrecking v. Motors Insurance, 56 Misc.2d 232, 288 N.Y.S.2d 281 (1968). Testimony established the truck was worth $22,000 when impounded, meaning it apparently did not depreciate in value during the months between Colton's purchase and the impoundment. Dismantled and unprotected from the Wyoming winter, uncontroverted testimony valued the truck at $8,000 in salvage. The trial court properly considered the special circumstances of SDCL 57A-2-714(2) to include the devaluation of the vehicle while in the hands of the Wyoming Highway Patrol and awarded the difference to Colton. Was the truck worth less than $22,000 at the time of impoundment? Could the truck have been worth more than $8,000 at the time it was released? The trial court could not answer those questions, as neither party offered any other estimates. The $14,000 award on the loss of the truck due to the breach is affirmed. Carlson v. Rysavy, 262 N.W.2d 27 (S.D.1978).