Earhart v. William Low Co.

William Low (defendant), planning a mobile-home park spanning his land and neighboring land owned by Pillow, urged Earhart (plaintiff), a contractor, to begin construction immediately to preserve a time-sensitive permit on Pillow's property, falsely claiming he had secured financing. Earhart worked for a week improving both properties before learning Low had no financing and had hired a different contractor; the trial court granted Earhart restitution only for work on Low's own property, reasoning Low received no direct benefit from improvements to Pillow's land that he did not own.