Opinion ID: 1598750
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Reasonableness of Length of Business Interruption.

Text: Amana claims the Ballards' attempt to obtain lost profit damages for a four-year business interruption is unreasonable as a matter of law. See Mills, 454 N.W.2d at 850 (plaintiff may only recover usable value of destroyed property during time reasonably required to replace it). It claims the Ballards could have, and should have, purchased swine of like quality and grade shortly after discovering the difficulties with the toxic corn. It also claims it should not be held responsible for any extension in the business interruption resulting from a third party providing diseased hogs for repopulation. The Ballards claim Dr. Behr's economic model reasonably calculated it took four years for the Ballards to achieve the level of production they would have experienced but for the toxic corn. They claim Amana should be responsible for the full four-year business interruption regardless of whether it was prolonged by diseased hogs used for repopulation. We believe the Ballards presented sufficient evidence to allow the jury to base its damage award upon a four-year business interruption, notwithstanding the fact the interruption was prolonged by the acquisition of diseased hogs. Repopulation of the Ballards' swine herd was necessitated by Amana's actions. The possibility that some of the hogs used for repopulation would be diseased, thereby increasing the business interruption, was reasonably foreseeable. If an intervening act is reasonably foreseeable, it will not relieve the original wrongdoer of liability. Haumersen, 257 N.W.2d at 15. Thus, the foreseeable acquisition of diseased hogs was not an intervening cause sufficient to relieve Amana of its liability for the full four-year business interruption. Cf. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 465 (1965) (original tortfeasor is liable for additional harm resulting from efforts to mitigate harm caused by original negligence).