Harrod Concrete and Stone Co. v. B. Todd Crutcher

Summary

The Kentucky Supreme Court held that damages for mineral trespass do not depend on whether the injured landowner could have mined the minerals. For an innocent trespass, damages are the extracted minerals' value less reasonable, productive mining expenses; for a willful trespass, damages are the minerals' market value without deducting extraction expenses, and punitive damages are unavailable. The court also upheld the willful-trespass instruction and admission of the mining expert's testimony, but vacated the existing verdict and remanded for a new trial under the revised rules. Justice Venters, dissenting, would have retained the traditional distinction for limestone and other ubiquitous rock underlying large areas of Kentucky.