Opinion ID: 2187773
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: the ellisons'/sullivans' failure to introduce appraisal testimony

Text: In Newsome v. Billips , [15] the Court of Appeals correctly recognized that a plaintiff seeking restoration cost damages in an injury-to-property case need not introduce evidence of a diminution in the fair market value of the property in order to state a prima facie case and overcome a motion for directed verdict because reasonable inferences may be drawn from evidence of restoration costs: In order to sustain a motion for a directed verdict, the court must draw all fair and rational inferences from the evidence in favor of the party opposing the motion. A verdict should not be directed unless the evidence is insufficient to sustain the verdict. The Newsomes' proof was based solely on the cost to cure by repair. They did not offer any direct proof of the difference in the fair market value of their property immediately before and immediately after the alleged damages .... [I]t may be presumed that the anticipated cost of repair would reduce the value by an equal amount. The directed verdict was properly denied. [16] In Newsome , the Court of Appeals cited to State Property and Buildings Commission v. H. W. Miller Construction Co., 385 S.W.2d 211 (Ky. 1964) [17] where our predecessor court reversed a directed verdict in favor of the defense at the close of the plaintiffs' evidence because the plaintiff failed to introduce any evidence of a diminution in fair market value in a breach of construction contract case. The old Court of Appeals held that a party seeking damages in a property case whose evidence relating to damages only addresses the cost to repair has produced a prima facie case, but the Court's dicta suggests that direct evidence regarding fair market value may require contrary direct evidence: [W]hen the owner has proved what it reasonably cost him to make the building conform to the contract it should not be necessary for him to go into the question of market value unless that question is raised by the defense. In the absence of evidence to the contrary it would ordinarily be presumed (and our decisions have tacitly recognized this) that as between a willing seller and a willing buyer of a new building known to be in need of certain repair work the anticipated cost of the remedial work would reduce the price by an equivalent amount. So, unless there is evidence to inject it, the question of market value need not be considered, and the commission's evidence in this case was not deficient in that respect. [18] Therefore, in the case now before us, the Court of Appeals incorrectly concluded that the construction companies should have been granted a directed verdict because of the Ellisons'/Sullivans' failure to introduce evidence of a diminution in the fair market value of their property during the plaintiffs' case-in-chief. The Ellisons/Sullivans introduced evidence showing that the construction companies dumped a quantity of highway waste material upon their property and they proved the cost to remove that waste and return the property to its original state. Such evidence created a reasonable inference as to the diminution in fair market value of the subject property, and the trial court correctly denied the defendant construction companies' motions for directed verdict at the close of the Ellisons'/Sullivans' evidence. The question of whether the trial court should have granted a directed verdict to the construction companies at the close of all evidence is a question of first impression for this Court, although appellate courts in this state have discussed the issue before in dicta. Where the trial court overrules a motion for directed verdict, we must examine the evidence presented in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion: In considering the sole question before us, i.e., whether the defendant was entitled to a directed verdict, the court must draw all fair and rational inferences from the evidence in favor of the plaintiff, and the evidence of such party's witnesses must be accepted as true, for the purposes of such a motion. [19] This Court has conceptualized its review of whether a defendant was entitled to a directed verdict as determining whether a jury could reasonably have reached its verdict on the basis of the evidence before it: A motion for directed verdict admits the truth of all evidence which is favorable to the party against whom the motion is made. Upon such motion, the court may not consider the credibility of evidence or the weight it should be given, this being a function reserved to the trier of fact. Moreover, the trial court should favor the party against whom the motion is made with all inferences which may reasonably be drawn from the evidence. Upon completion of the foregoing evidentiary review, the trial court must determine whether the evidence favorable to the party against whom the motion is made is of such substance that a verdict rendered thereon would be palpably or flagrantly against the evidence so as to indicate that it was reached as a result of passion or prejudice. If the trial court concludes that such would be the case, a directed verdict should be given. Otherwise, the motion should be denied. [20] If we apply this standard of review to the case before us, we must assume as true the following: (1) the construction companies deposited approximately 14,500 cubic yards of highway waste on the Ellisons'/Sullivans' property without permission; and (2) it would cost the Ellisons/Sullivans ten cents (10¢) per cubic yard to remove the waste. As we must also draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the Ellisons/Sullivans, we must accept the reasonable inference that the value of a piece of property has decreased by the amount necessary to restore it to its original condition. The construction companies contend that the trial court should have entered a directed verdict in their favor at the close of all evidence because the Ellisons/Sullivans introduced no evidence to contradict the opinion of real estate appraiser Robert Daniels that the fair market value of this parcel remained constant at $325,000 between May and November of 1992. In other words, they argue that the direct evidence of the fair market value of the piece of property which they introduced by way of expert testimony from a real estate appraiser acted as a trump card which entitled them to a directed verdict. Unquestionably, the Ellisons/Sullivans elected not to engage in a so-called battle of the experts by introducing testimony from a different real estate appraiser to rebut the testimony of Mr. Daniels, and they certainly took a risk that a properly instructed jury would find the expert testimony credible and return a defense verdict. We feel, however, that the totality of the evidence before the jury at the close of all evidence justified a damage award for the Ellisons/Sullivans. Parties can contradict expert testimony in more than one way. We believe the Ellisons'/Sullivans' inferential evidence regarding a diminution in the fair market value of their property as a result of the clean up costs associated with restoring the property to its original position was a sufficient basis for the trial court's submission of the damages issue to the jury. Evaluation of the weight which should be given to expert testimony is the exclusive province of the jury, [21] and a jury may properly conclude that indirect evidence gives it a better sense of the fair market value of a piece of property than does an expert's opinion. When we view the evidence as to damages through the directed verdict lens, we believe a reasonable jury could have disregarded the testimony of Mr. Daniels and believed that the fair market value of the Ellisons'/Sullivans' property did decline after the highway waste was deposited on it. Despite dicta to the contrary in Newsome v. Billips [22] and State Property & Buildings Commission v. H. W. Miller Construction Co ., [23] reasonable inferences regarding diminution in fair market value drawn from evidence of restoration costs do not evaporate when an expert expresses an opinion contrary to the reasonable inference. The expert's opinion is additional evidence for the jury to consider in deciding the issue, but no more and no less. Therefore, at the close of all of the evidence, although the Ellisons/Sullivans had introduced no direct evidence of a decline in the fair market value of the land through the testimony of a real estate appraiser, we believe that the trial court correctly considered the evidence presented concerning the cost to remove the highway fill material as inferential evidence of diminution in value. The trial court implicitly determined by overruling the motion for directed verdict that it would not be unreasonable for a jury to find that the property in question had diminished in value as a result of the depositing of the debris upon it. We do not find such ruling clearly erroneous. Counsel for the Ellisons/Sullivans cross-examined Mr. Daniels regarding his opinions regarding the fair market value of the property on the relevant dates and was able to demonstrate that the appraiser's opinion was based, at least in part, on his belief that an insignificant amount of fill had been added to the property during that time span. At trial, the parties had contested the extent of the dumping on the Ellisons'/Sullivans' property, and evidence in the record would support a jury's disregard of the appraiser's conclusions. We note that neither party examined Mr. Daniels regarding how he reached his opinion regarding the fair market value of the property, and the jury was given no basis for Daniels's opinion other than his qualifications and appraisal experience. This Court is not prepared to label as palpably or flagrantly against the evidence the trial court's conclusion that a jury could find that the value of the property had declined in the face of the appraiser's testimony. We also must note that the jury visited the property and had an opportunity to personally view and assess its condition for the purposes of evaluating the in-court testimony.