Koch v. Norris Public Power Dist.

A downed power line owned by Norris Public Power District (defendant) started a fire on a sunny, windy day that burned about 86 acres of the Kochs' (plaintiffs) cornfield. A Norris engineer admitted power lines don't usually fall without either negligence or extreme weather, but Norris employees threw the fallen line section in a Dumpster before testing, and testing later destroyed the smoky, burnt line. Norris speculated that hunters or vandals, known to shoot at lines in the area, must have shot the line down, noting a similar incident 11 miles away a month before trial. The trial court granted Norris a directed verdict, reasoning res ipsa loquitur didn't apply because the Kochs hadn't disproven that someone else caused the line to fall. The Kochs appealed.