Laserfiche WebLink
130 Colo. 560 PACIFIC REPORTER, 2d SERIES <br />case on the theories of trespass and nui- <br />sance impermissibly allowed the jury to <br />award double damages, and that the com- <br />pensatory damages were excessive because <br />they were the product of passion and preju- <br />dice. We disagree. <br />In iu special verdict, the jury appor- <br />tioned the damages, awarding E28.000 for <br />deprivation of use and enjoyment of the <br />property, evenly divided between Mr. and <br />Mrs. Miller, and 872,OOD for "annoyance, <br />discomfort, inconvenience, and loss of abili- <br />tc wenjoy their lives," attributing 818,000 <br />to Mr. Miller and $54,000 to Mrs. Miller. <br />[l, 2] Contrary to Carnation's conten- <br />tion, damages for loss of use and enjoyment <br />of property, on the one hand, and for an- <br />noyance and discomfort, on the other hand, <br />are not duplicative. The use and enjoy- <br />ment of land is a proprietary interest, while <br />annoyance and discomfort are personal, not <br />proprietary, interesu. In iu remittitur the <br />trial court correctly limited recovery for <br />loss of use and enjoyment to the loss of <br />rental value occasioned by the invasion. <br />This distinction between the elemenu of <br />damage leads to the rule that the owner of <br />land who is not an occupant map recover <br />only for the impaired value of his property, <br />while an occupant-owner may recover both <br />his proprietary and personal loss. Restate- <br />ment of Torts, § 929, Comment g; Restate- <br />ment (Second) of Torts, § 929, Comment e <br />(Tent. Draft No. 19). <br />[3.4] Asserting that it is impossible to <br />tell under which theory the jury made iu <br />award, Carnation cites Mosher v. Schumm, <br />114 Colo. 441. 166 P.2d 559 (1946), and Oss- <br />man v. Mountain States Tel. & Tel. (:o., 184 <br />Colo. 360, 520 P?d 738 (1974), as requiring a <br />reverse! of the verdict for compensatory <br />damages. Such reliance is misplaced. <br />These canes stand for the proposition that a <br />general verdict must be stricken when a <br />case is erroneously submitted m the jury on <br />two claims for relief, one of which is clearly <br />inappropriate. However, the present rase <br />was tried and submitted on the theories of <br />trespass and nuisance, and the jury re- <br />turned but one verdict on compensatory <br />damages. Caznation does not argue that <br />the Millers failed to establish a prima facie <br />rase on either claim, Miller .•. Carnation, <br />supra, and since the award embodied in the <br />special verdict requested by Carnation is <br />supportable under either theory, it must <br />stand. <br />Carnation also maintains that the com- <br />pensatory damages were excessive in that <br />they were the result of the passion and <br />prejudice of the jury, and further, that the <br />jury mold not award damages based on <br />annual lose, since flies were a problem only <br />during warm months. The first point is <br />without meet, and the second misconstrues <br />the nature of the damages awarded. <br />[5] The trial court ordered remittitur on <br />the element of loss of usage and enjoyment <br />of the property, not because the jury ver- <br />dict resulted from passion or prejudice, but <br />because it exceeded the maximum awarda- <br />ble amount. The jury was not instructed <br />on the method or limiu for amving at this <br />figure, and the trial judge's order indicates <br />that the court iuelf had not determined the <br />proper method of computation prior to the <br />hearing on the motion fora new trial. <br />Thus, Carnation's argument that the excess <br />can be attributed only to improper jury <br />considerations is unsound. The trial court <br />siu in a much better position than we to <br />judge the propriety of a verdict. Here the <br />trial court exercised iu durretion in order- <br />ing the remittitur, and we are not able to <br />say that the judgment as entered is grossly <br />and manifestly excessive. Bohlender v. <br />Oster, 165 Colo. 164, 439 P2d 999 (1968). <br />Neither is there substance to Carnation's <br />additional contentions that the damage <br />awards were predicated on other alleged <br />irregularities omutring during the course of <br />trial. <br />[6] Carnation's argument that the unre- <br />mitted damages for annoyance and discom- <br />fort were improperly predicated on an an- <br />nual basis when they should have been lim- <br />ited to those months when flies were at <br />their most numerous is not well taken. <br />These damages, unlike those sustained in <br />the loss of use and enjoyment of the proper- <br />ty, are not suffered on a weekly, monthly, <br />