Jarrett v. E. L. Harper & Son, Inc.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
235 S.E.2d 362 (1977)
- Written by Serena Lipski, JD
Facts
While building a public sewer, E. L. Harper & Son, Inc. (Harper) (defendant), a contractor, destroyed Kenneth and Fonda Jarrett’s water well on the property of their residence. The Jarretts did not have water at their home for five weeks until a new well could be finished. The new well cost $766.82, and the Jarretts had additional out-of-pocket expenses of $115.30 for laundromat expenses, buckets, and other items. The Jarretts sued Harper seeking $5,000 for the cost of the new well, the out-of-pocket expenses, and compensation for inconvenience, hardship, annoyance, and discomfort. The complaint demanded a jury trial. After the jury was selected but before trial began, Harper confessed judgment in the amount of $882.12, and the trial court ordered judgment in Jarretts’ favor for that amount, holding that the Jarretts were not entitled to any other damages because such damages were not supported by adequate proof. The Jarretts appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Harshbarger, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
