Court Opinion

ID: 9550253
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:32:52.747476+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:19:46.218642
License: Public Domain

*271CARTER, J.
I dissent.
I am of the opinion that the portion of the judgment for damages should be affirmed and the injunctive feature either amended or affirmed as correctly construed.
In this case the defendant negligently maintained loose dirt on his land which has in the past, when it rained, moved onto plaintiff’s land. The court expressly found that such condition existing on defendant’s land permanently depreciated the market value of plaintiff’s land as follows: . . by reason of the acts of the defendant . . . plaintiff’s property has suffered a substantial and permanent impairment of value and has lost its desirability as a residence for plaintiff, or any prospective purchasers; that it is true that the fair market value of the house on plaintiff's property before the deposit of the loose dirt, and the damage occasioned thereby, was the sum of $40,000.00, and that the fair resale value of said house after the damage caused by the defendant . . . was the sum of $16,000.00, to plaintiff’s detriment and damage in the sum of $24,000.00, and it is true that the maintenance by the defendant ... of the loose quantities of dirt on his premises will cause plaintiff great and irreparable injury and will permanently deprive plaintiff’s land of any value for residential purposes.” (Italics added.) It is conceded by the majority that that finding is supported by the evidence. The majority opinion says, however, that there is an inconsistent finding to the effect that the condition on defendant’s land is not permanent—can be abated. There is no express finding to that effect. Assuming there is an implied finding flowing from the fact that an injunction was given, then the duty of this court is to liberally construe the findings to support the part of the judgment based upon such findings, rather than reversing the entire judgment. Thus the implied inconsistent finding that the condition can be abated may be ignored, and the part of the judgment awarding injunctive relief reversed, while affirming the damage portion which is based on an express finding of permanent damage. In line with the settled rule that findings must be liberally construed to support the judgment and specific findings control over general ones (24 Cal.Jur. 1007 et seq.) an express finding prevails over an implied one. (See Central H. Imp. Co. v. Memorial Parks, Inc., 40 CalApp.2d 591 [105 P.2d 596].)
It is not necessary, however, to reverse the injunctive provision in the judgment, for correctly construed, under the *272rule requiring liberal construction to support it, there is no inconsistency. So interpreted, it enjoins only the maintenance in the future by defendant on his land of additional loose soil, that is, in addition to what is already there. The findings are readily susceptible of that construction. It is found that “Plaintiff is entitled to a permanent restraining order against the defendant, enjoining . . . defendant . . . from excavating, re-surfacing or distributing his said land and depositing loose dirt in any manner which may threaten or endanger the residence of the plaintiff, and ordering the defendant ... to remove deposits of loose dirt upon his said land, or in lieu thereof, to place protecting structures around said loose dirt in such a manner that the property of the plaintiff will not be endangered or threatened by the existence of deposits of loose dirt.” (Italics added.) It will be noted that the participle form of the verbs “excavate, re-surface or distribute” speak in the future. It could not be speaking of the past because that soil had already been excavated and distributed. The removal of the dirt being in the same tenor, refers to the dirt to be distributed in the future, after the entry of the judgment. It is true that the judgment also refers to the removal of dirt theretofore deposited. That portion of the judgment is out of harmony with the findings and should be modified.
I would therefore modify the judgment with respect to injunctive relief against dirt already deposited on defendant’s land and affirm the judgment as so modified.
The opinion and judgment were modified to read as above printed and respondent’s petition for a rehearing was denied February 14, 1952. Carter, J., was of the opinion that the petition should be granted.