Bates v. Smith
Bates v. Smith
Opinion of the Court
This is the third time this action has reached an appellate court.
This appeal is from a judgment against appellants in the sum of $5,968.64. The first appeal was in Smith v. Daly, 181 Cal.App.2d 154 [5 Cal.Rptr. 176], which reversed a judgment quieting title in appellants. Thereafter, Meyer was substituted for appellants in another quiet title action, but appellants remained in the case as cross-defendants on the trespass action brought by Nellie Daly.
At the second trial title was quieted in Nellie E. Daly, individually and as executrix of the estate of her husband, Alvin Daly. However, no damages were awarded to her for the trespass because the court found that the trespass was in “good faith,” and further found that the mining business carried on by appellants had resulted in no profit to them. On appeal this court upheld the finding that the trespass was not
The controversy centers around a strip mining operation conducted by appellants in the Cantil area of Kern County, which required four inches of overburden to be removed to uncover underlying gypsite, which was then disked and allowed to dry. Some of it was graded and screened before loading, but about 50 percent was loaded by skip loader directly into trucks and shipped to buyers in loads of 20 to 22 tons each. Some 4,663 tons were removed from respondent’s property in this manner. The gypsite obtained was classified as 60 percent and better, the price increasing with higher gypsite content.
This court, in Daly v. Smith, supra, ordered the trial court to ascertain the value of the gypsite in situ, indicating that this could be done by ascertaining market value, less mining expenses and necessary transportation expenses. At the trial portions of the transcript of two prior trials were introduced and evidence was introduced showing the cost per ton of mining and milling and hauling the gypsite.
An accountant’s summary of appellants’ books, together with testimony by an expert witness named Mr. Fannin, support the trial court’s findings that the gypsite’s average sale price was $5.98 per ton, and that the average cost of milling, mining and transportation was $6.77 per ton. The evidence also supports the finding that the gypsite had a substantial value in place because of agricultural developments near Mojave and Cantil which would be equal to its price f.o.b. the mine, minus a reasonable cost of extraction in a normally operated mine disassociated from an upgraded sales campaign. The sales in that area revealed that $3.50 a ton was indicative of the true value of gypsite to the owners, which by subtracting $1.10 per ton for delivery cost and upgrading the value of the gypsite because of its percentage rating, showed the gypsite as worth $2.50 per ton at the mine.
Also supported are the determinations of the court that appellants’ costs of milling and mining were unreasonably high. The trial judge interpreted the holding in Daly v.
Although appellant urges vigorously that the court erred in allowing only the reasonable costs of mining and milling, and attempts to argue a different interpretation of the evidence than that adopted by the trial court, his argument must fail when the true intention of the earlier opinion in Daly v. Smith, 220 Cal.App.2d 592 at p. 603 [33 Cal.Rptr. 920], is considered: “It will be the duty of the court upon retrial, therefore, first to find the reasonable market value of the gypsite converted by cross-defendants.
“ ‘The term “value,” when applied to either personal or real property, without express qualification, denotes the price the property will command in the open market. And the term “market value” refers to a price established therefor through the medium of a public sale of the property or its sale in the ordinary course of business. ’ (14 Cal.Jur.2d, Damages, § 126, p. 752.)
“The trial court should next ascertain the direct cost of mining and milling the gypsite in question in order that such cost may be deducted from the reasonable market value of the product. It should be noted that the costs of mining and milling should be restricted to the direct costs of those processes ; and overhead costs of the partnership, advertising, executive salaries, lawyers’ fees and all other items that do not fall strictly under the classification of ‘mining and milling’ should not be deducted.
“Furthermore, if the evidence shows that it was essential to transport the product to some point distant from the mine itself as the nearest market, it would be proper to deduct from the gross selling price or market value at such distant point the reasonable costs of transportation.”
The appellants’ argument is that since this court used the term “reasonable market value” and “reasonable cost of transportation,” but did not use the word “reasonable” when
Appellants recognize the Grofoot case but try to distinguish it on the ground that there lumber was involved, while here mineral is involved. The distinction we think is not important. The important point is that in that case as in this the court was attempting to compensate an owner fully for the loss caused by a trespasser’s wrongful invasion of his property. No rational reason appears why any different measure should be used here.
Carey v. Glenco Citrus Products, 235 Cal.App.2d 572, 581 [45 Cal.Rptr. 365], also sets forth the measure of damages where a conversion of an orange crop was involved as the amount which might have been received from the sale of the crop in due course of events, less the reasonable and necessary costs of production, harvesting and marketing from the time of conversion to sale, whichever was larger.
Appellants also attempt to argue that the trial court ignored the rule of the case in its method of trying the issue of damages. The argument is not pertinent since this court in the prior appeal was only concerned with whether profits were involved in determining damages, and to what extent expenses could be lumped under the category of mining and milling. It is settled that the law of the case does not relate to points
The only other points raised by appellant resolve themselves into a quarrel with the evidence and with the court’s interpretation of it. Under familiar appellate rules, this court cannot substitute its decision for that of the trier of the fact. A reading of the record convinces us that there is substantia] evidence to support the present judgment.
Judgment affirmed.
Conley, P. J., and Stone, J., concurred.
Assigned by the Chairman of the Judicial Council.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.