West Coast Advertising Co. v. City and County of San Francisco

Plaintiff, a wholesale grower of ornamental nursery trees brought this action for damages for crop loss allegedly sustained by him by reason of defendants destruction of a concrete irrigation pipeline. The complaint was in two counts -- one based on intentional trespass and one on negligence. Following a nonjury trial the court found that defendants unlawfully and intentionally, though not maliciously, demolished the pipeline and that as a consequence plaintiff was unable to harvest nursery stock having an "alleged market value in excess of $17,000." However, it found that plaintiff could have avoided the loss by utilizing a substitute means of conveying water to the land at a cost of not more than $600 and, hence, limited plaintiffs recovery to a judgment for that sum against certain of the named defendants. Plaintiff appeals.