Goshgarian v. George
| Decision Date | 21 November 1984 |
| Citation | 208 Cal.Rptr. 321,161 Cal.App.3d 1214 |
| Court | California Court of Appeals |
| Parties | George GOSHGARIAN et al., Cross-complainants and Respondents, v. Leon Y. GEORGE et al., Cross-defendants and Appellants. Civ. F002243. |
Leon Y. George and Louise K. George, in pro. per., for cross-defendants and appellants.
McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth, Lowell T. Carruth and David H. Bent, Fresno, for cross-complainants and respondents.
This is the third time that the parties, disputatious neighbors, have been before us.
The first time, we reversed the trial court because it granted a motion for summary judgment in an action by Leon George and his wife (herein cross-defendants) against George Goshgarian and others (collectively cross-complainants) for damages arising out of cross-complainants' denial of an asserted easement to run an electrical line to George's house across cross-complainants' property. 139 Cal.App.3d 856, 189 Cal.Rptr. 94.
The parties were before us again on an appeal from the granting of another summary judgment. George had asserted several causes of action against various defendants, including some of the cross-complainants. In reference to causes of action for malicious prosecution and interference with economic benefit, we affirmed. But we reversed the grant of a summary judgment on the cause of action alleging property damage.
Our task today is to review a judgment in favor of cross-complainants, entered after jury trial, on a cross-complaint. We affirm as to the award of compensatory damages, but vacate and remand with directions in reference to the award of punitive damages.
I. FACTS
In 1977, cross-defendants purchased lot 62 in the Sierra Sky Park subdivision and began construction of a residence thereon, Mr. George acting as his own contractor. A dispute arose between cross-defendants and cross-complainants over whether cross-defendants would include an airplane port in the plans for their home, and antagonism developed between cross-complainant Joe Beighley and cross-defendant Leon George.
Prior to cross-defendants' purchase of lot 62, cross-complainants had become the owners of lot 115, a long, narrow parcel running along the northern boundaries of all the residential lots in the area in which the parties lived. The residential lots are on a bluff overlooking the San Joaquin River. Lot 115 is property steeply sloping down from the bluff toward the river. When cross-defendants attempted to obtain electrical power from an existing source on lot 115, cross-complainants refused to permit the power company to install powerlines over lot 115 to cross-defendants' home.
The first part of the residence constructed by cross-defendants was a swimming pool; cross-defendants filled the pool with water, but because no filtration system was in operation, the water became stagnant. Cross-defendants then began draining the water from the pool using hoses running over the bluff onto lot 115. Concerned that the draining water would erode the sandy soil of the bluff, cross-complainant Joe Beighley told cross-defendant Leon George that the latter could not drain his swimming pool water onto lot 115. Mr. George continued to drain his swimming pool water onto lot 115, asserting to Mr. Beighley that he (George) had a right to so drain the water, and claiming that he could do anything he wanted on lot 115 all the way to the bottom of the bluff. Cross-complainant Dr. Goshgarian told Mr. George that he (George) should ask the permission of cross-complainants before draining his pool water onto lot 115, to which Mr. George responded that he did not need cross-complainants' permission to drain his pool water. Although a sheriff's deputy visited the site of cross-defendants' home and instructed Mr. George not to drain the swimming pool water onto lot 115, Mr. George persisted in so draining, switching from garden hoses to PVC pipe when Mr. Beighley and cross-complainant Mike Mecca cut the hoses where they crossed onto lot 115. At some point during the time cross-defendants were draining their pool using hoses, they attempted to conceal the hoses where they crossed onto lot 115 by covering them with brush.
Sometime subsequent to the incidents relating to the draining of cross-defendants' swimming pool, Mr. Beighley observed that cross-defendants were constructing a wall a portion of which appeared to encroach upon lot 115. On August 28, 1978, Mr. Beighley had a conversation with Mr. George concerning this encroachment, but George "disregarded" the problem. Beighley sent a letter to George memorializing the conversation of August 28, 1978, but received no response. Beighley also had a conversation with George during this period in which he informed George that his (George's) pool decking and fence encroached upon lot 115, but George denied this asserted encroachment. During one conversation between Mike Mecca and Mr. George, at which Mecca pointed out the excavations made for George's wall extended beyond the property stake marking the boundary between lot 62 and lot 115, George pulled the property stake out of the ground and threw it away, saying "Property stakes don't mean nothing to me."
On April 14 and 18, 1980, a surveying firm hired by cross-complainants did a boundary survey of the line between lots 62 and 115. The surveying firm employee who actually took the measurements observed that some concrete footing supporting cross-defendants' pool decking extended .2 feet north of the lot 62 property line near the northeast corner of lot 62, with the encroachment continuing westward for approximately 14 to 15 feet reaching a maximum intrusion into lot 115 of .85 feet. He further observed that the pool decking itself encroached .48 feet north of the property line somewhat to the west of the concrete footing. Finally, the surveying firm employee observed that a wrought iron fence which ran along the pool decking encroached from .64 feet to 1.52 feet north of the lot 62/lot 115 property line (running from east to west and terminating just inside the western boundary of lot 62). A map was prepared under the supervision of Fred N. Rabe, a registered civil engineer and licensed land surveyor, which reflected the survey performed by his employees.
By letter dated April 18, 1980, Mr. Beighley informed cross-defendants of the results of the survey, and requested that the encroachments be removed, on pain of legal action. Mr. George replied by a letter dated April 20, 1980, in which he asserted that the survey done at the request of cross-complainants was erroneous, that his property line was actually two feet north of the location reflected in cross-complainants' survey, and stated that, if any encroachments were established to his satisfaction, he would compensate the owners of lot 115 based upon the area encroached and the market value of lot 115.
On June 14, 1980, Mr. Beighley had a conversation with Mr. George concerning some sod that George had placed on lot 115 and a sprinkler system he had installed to water that sod. Beighley advised George that the sprinkler system and sod were additional encroachments which would have to be removed along with the pool decking and fence. George again laid claim to the entire bluff next to his home. Beighley stated that the owners of lot 115 would take legal action, and memorialized the entire conversation in a letter to George dated June 16, 1980.
At the time of trial, only the wrought iron fence had been removed by cross-defendants. The draining of cross-defendants pool water caused erosion to the bluff on lot 115, and the encroachments clouded the title to the lot and made it unsalable. Three hundred and twenty one dollars and ten cents was paid to the surveyors. Jeanette Mecca testified that she suffered mental anguish as a result of Mr. George's actions.
After cross-defendants had purchased lot 62, but before construction of their residence had begun, cross-complainants met with Mr. George and demanded that he include an airplane port as part of his residence. George agreed to include a plane port only if cross-complainants the Meccas and the Goshgarians would add plane ports to their existing residences. Cross-complainants told Mr. George that if he did not add a plane port to the plans for his residence, they would not permit the power company to supply electricity to the George home. Cross-defendants were ultimately forced to dig a trench on the south approach to their lot so that power lines could be installed to their residence, with concomitant delays in the construction of that residence.
Mr. George denied ever being told by any cross-complainant that the pool decking, concrete footings, or wrought iron fence were encroaching on lot 115 until he received one letter, which prompted his reply letter of April 20, 1980. The subcontractor who installed cross-defendants' pool decking testified that during the three days he worked on lot 62, Mr. Mecca visited the site but never said anything about the decking encroaching upon lot 115. Mr. George began draining his pool because the cross-complainants complained to the district attorney's office about the lack of a fence and the stagnant water in the pool. George did not seek permission to drain water onto lot 115 because he felt he had the right to do so (lot 115 was burdened by an easement in favor of Fresno County for the storage and disposal of storm drain water), and because he was sure that such permission would have been denied. He began using PVC pipe to drain the water after cross-complainants had cut up the garden hoses he had previously used. After receiving a letter from cross-complainants' attorney in August 1978, George stopped draining the swimming pool water onto lot 115.
When Mr. George received the...
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