Opinion ID: 889691
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Reasons Personal.

Text: ¶ 37 The reasons personal rule requires Lampi to prove that he possesses a personal reason to restore the damaged property. Sunburst, ¶¶ 32, 43; Osborne, 947 P.2d at 1359; Kelly v. CB & I Constructors, Inc., 179 Cal.App.4th 442, 450-51, 102 Cal. Rptr.3d 32 (Cal.App.2009). Sunburst provided the first opportunity for this Court to apply the reasons personal rule. We also look to other jurisdictions that have adopted § 929 for guidance on the application of the reasons personal rule. See Bd. of Co. Commrs. Weld Co. v. Slovek, 723 P.2d 1309, 1314-15 (Colo.1986); Roman Catholic Church v. La. Gas, 618 So.2d 874, 877 (La. 1993); Osborne, 947 P.2d at 1359. ¶ 38 The plaintiffs in Sunburst sought restoration damages after Texaco had contaminated plaintiffs' personal residences and a community with a well-known carcinogen benzene. Sunburst, ¶ 38. We recognized that a plaintiff's desire to enjoy and live in his home represents a typical personal reason to seek repair of the property. Id. at ¶ 38 (citing Slovek, 723 P.2d at 1314-15). The plaintiffs also had demonstrated that any award would be used to remediate plaintiffs' property. Id. at ¶ 43. ¶ 39 A landowner's motivation for holding property provides guidance as to whether reasons personal exist. Restoration costs generally constitute the most appropriate measure of damages for a plaintiff who demonstrates a desire to continue to use the damaged property instead of selling it. Sunburst, ¶ 34 (citing Roman Catholic Church, 618 So.2d at 877); Osborne, 947 P.2d at 1359. A restoration award, in contrast, may confer a windfall upon a plaintiff whose only purpose for holding the land is to sell it for profit. Osborne, 947 P.2d at 1359 (citing Dan B. Dobbs, Law of Remedies § 5.2(1), 714-15 (2d ed., West 1993)); Sunburst, ¶¶ 40-44. ¶ 40 Texaco argued that Sunburst residents would receive a windfall if the restoration damages exceeded the diminution in market value as nothing required the residents actually to use the award for restoration. Sunburst, ¶¶ 40-44. Several Sunburst residents testified that their primary objective in the case consisted of cleaning up the contaminants in their community. Id. at ¶ 44. Texaco failed to contradict the residents' testimony. The uncontroverted evidence established that plaintiffs genuinely intended to restore their property. Id. The plaintiffs' reasons personal justified a restoration damages award in excess of the diminution in market value. Id. at ¶ 49. ¶ 41 The plaintiff in Roman Catholic Church operated a low-income housing complex that Louisiana Gas negligently had damaged through a fire. Roman Catholic Church, 618 So.2d at 875. In Sunburst we cited with approval the Louisiana court's conclusion that the plaintiff's desire to provide housing to low income families also constituted a valid personal reason to the plaintiff under § 929 to support restoration damages. Sunburst, ¶ 35 (citing Roman Catholic Church, 618 So.2d at 880). ¶ 42 The defendant in Osborne negligently had burned trees on the plaintiffs' property. The plaintiffs testified that their property and the trees on their property had noncommercial value to them. Osborne, 947 P.2d at 1360. The plaintiffs had selected the property especially because of the wooded character of the property as a place for recreation and as a place to retire. They had no intention of ever selling the property. Id. ¶ 43 The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendant in Osborne and ruled that diminution in market value represented the sole measure of damages for the lost trees. Id. The Alaska Supreme Court reversed and applied the reasons personal rule. Id. The court determined that the plaintiffs had demonstrated sufficient evidence of reasons personal to survive a motion for summary judgment. Id. The trial court should have presented the question to the jury of whether the plaintiffs had established a personal reason to justify restoration costs to replace the trees and whether the plaintiffs genuinely intended to restore the property. Id. ¶ 44 A trial court should grant summary judgment to establish restoration damages as the appropriate measure of damages if reasonable minds could not differ as to whether a temporary injury and reasons personal exist. Hill v. Cox, 110 Wash.App. 394, 41 P.3d 495, 502 (2002). The trial court in Hill determined that the undisputed evidence established that Hill had purchased the property for recreational purposes and that the lost trees provided a visual buffer that enhanced privacy and aesthetic values. Id. The trial court properly granted summary judgment that restoration damages constituted the appropriate measure of damages. Id. ¶ 45 Like the plaintiffs in Osborne and Hill, Lampi argues that he presented sufficient evidence of reasons personal through depositions and affidavits to support his election of restoration damages. Osborne, 947 P.2d at 1360. Lampi testified that his property had noncommercial value to him and that he did not intend ever to sell the property. Lampi testified that he had specifically selected this piece of property because of the vegetation on the property and because of his history hunting the land. Lampi testified that he intended to retire on the property. ¶ 46 Speed did not dispute Lampi's personal desires to restore the property before the District Court. Speed failed to present any evidence to refute Lampi's claim that he had personal reasons to restore his property. Speed conceded to the District Court that he did not dispute Lampi's stated future plans for the use of his property. Speed placed little import on Lampi's personal reasons to restore the property. Speed's decision to concede this point likely stems from his position that the restoration damages rule should not apply to Lampi's claim for destroyed vegetation. Supra, ¶¶ 27-29. ¶ 47 Speed made a tactical decision to challenge the appropriateness of restoration damages for destroyed vegetation rather than to challenge Lampi's claims regarding the specific elements of restoration damages. This tactical decision left Speed without a response to Lampi's claims. Speed did not present substantial evidence of a material fact to refute whether Lampi had presented sufficient evidence of temporary injuries or reasons personal. Hill v. Cox, 41 P.3d at 502. ¶ 48 We emphasize that these issues normally present factual questions for the jury to resolve. Osborne, 947 P.2d at 1360. In this instance, however, Lampi presented undisputed evidence of the temporary nature of the injury and his reasons personal for seeking to restore the property. Speed opted not to challenge Lampi's claims on these points and instead argued unsuccessfully that damage to vegetation should not be susceptible to restoration damages. These unusual circumstances entitled Lampi to judgment as a matter of law on his claim for restoration damages. ¶ 49 The District Court should have concluded that restoration damages constituted the appropriate measure of damages in this case. PPL Mont., ¶ 84. The District Court failed to inform the parties whether it would apply the restoration damages rule established in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 929 to Lampi's case as a result of its indecision regarding the appropriate measure of damages. The court's failure to denote the proper measure of damages shaped the parties' trial strategies and presentations of evidence. ¶ 50 Lampi further argues that the District Court's refusal to adopt the restoration damages rule as the appropriate measure of damages in his case led to the admission of prejudicial evidence of the alleged diminution in the market value of Lampi's property. The District Court denied Lampi's motion in limine in light of its refusal to adopt restoration damages as the only appropriate measure of damages in Lampi's case. The District Court has not considered whether the alleged diminution in market value of Lampi's property qualifies as relevant evidence if restoration damages constitute the appropriate measure of damages. We decline to address this issue in light of the absence of any decision on the matter from the District Court in this context. Crail Creek Assocs., LLC v. Olson, 2008 MT 209, ¶ 35, 344 Mont. 321, 187 P.3d 667. The parties may address this evidentiary issue as needed on remand. We likewise decline to address Lampi's challenge to the District Court's jury instruction for these same reasons. ¶ 51 We reverse and remand for a new trial to allow the jury to determine what reasonable amount of damages would restore Lampi's property to its pre-fire condition. We Concur: MIKE McGRATH, C.J., BETH BAKER, PATRICIA COTTER, MICHAEL E. WHEAT, JIM RICE and JAMES C. NELSON, JJ.