Trinity Church v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Supreme Court of Massachusetts
502 N.E.2d 532 (1987)
John Hancock's (defendant) construction excavation caused the foundation of historic, stone-masonry Trinity Church (plaintiff) to shift and settle unevenly, cracking its brittle stone walls throughout; Trinity's expert quantified the accelerated depreciation caused during the four-year construction period (from 26% normal depreciation by 1968 to 65% total depreciation by 1972) and calculated damages as that incremental depreciation percentage multiplied by total reconstruction cost, and a jury awarded roughly $4.2 million.
Whether, for special purpose property such as nonprofit, charitable, or religious organization property, the proper method of calculating damages may be restoration cost rather than diminution in market value.