Groves v. John Wunder Co.

Groves (plaintiff) leased its gravel-processing land to John Wunder Co. (defendant) for seven years so Wunder could excavate sand and gravel; Wunder paid $105,000 and agreed to regrade the land level with the roadway afterward, and also benefited by eliminating Groves as a competitor. Wunder removed the gravel but never regraded the land as promised, leaving it uneven; completing that work would cost over $60,000, though the property's value if properly graded would only have been $12,160. The trial court awarded Groves only the $12,160 difference in property value, and Groves appealed the damages measure.