Opinion ID: 2014819
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: proposed jury instruction on herbicide applicator's liability

Text: The Cobbs proposed an instruction which read: You are instructed that both federal and state law provide that if injury or damage results from unauthorized use of a herbicide, then the applicator is liable for that damage. The court refused to give the instruction. The proposed instruction states in essence that Sure Crop would be liable to the Cobbs for violating a statute if the violation caused injury or damage. The instruction sounds in strict liability because it instructs the jury that the Cobbs may recover if Sure Crop used Treflan E.C. in violation of its label restrictions. However, the Cobbs' action is a breach of contract, specifically, a contract to apply a particular chemical, Eptam, to their field. The Cobbs characterize the action as such in their proposed jury instructions, and the district court did so as well in the instructions it gave to the jury, with no objection from the Cobbs. Any damages in their contract action must be in relation to a breach of the contract formed. A party is not entitled to a jury instruction on a theory of the case not presented by the pleadings. Stephens v. Radium Petroleum Co., 250 Neb. 560, 550 N.W.2d 39 (1996). Additionally, the proposed instruction referred to damages as they relate to damage from an illegal application of herbicide, not damage related to a breach of contract. The instruction could mislead the jury into believing that the Cobbs were entitled to recover, even absent a breach of contract. A jury instruction which misstates the issues and has a tendency to confuse the jury is erroneous. Long v. Hacker, 246 Neb. 547, 520 N.W.2d 195 (1994). The district court did not err in refusing the Cobbs' proposed instruction because it was not based upon the theories of the case presented by the pleadings and because it more than likely would have confused the jury in regard to the basis on which the Cobbs could recover damages.