Semenza v. Bowman
Montana Supreme Court
268 Mont. 118, 885 P.2d 451 (1994)
- Written by Alex Ruskell, JD
Facts
Ronald Bowman (defendant) and Eric Johnson operated a crop-spraying service. Larry Semenza (plaintiff) and Faye Fitzgerald asked Bowman to spray their barley crops. Bowman sprayed with an off-label mixture that damaged the barley crops. Bowman sued, arguing that he could not sell all of his crops because of the damage caused by Bowman. The court ruled in Semenza’s favor. Semenza sold the crops he had for $3.69 a bushel, but the court found he could have sold over 13,000 more bushels if his crops had not been damaged. Consequently, the court awarded damages equal to the amount of bushels lost times $3.69. Bowman appealed, arguing that the correct amount of damages was the amount of bushels lost times the fair market value at the time of harvest, which was $2.40. Bowman claimed that Semenza only made the additional money because he held onto the crops for a time, while Semenza argued he usually held onto crops after harvest because of common practice and a glut in the barley market on the date of the harvest.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Trieweiler, J.)
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