Mineral Park Land Co. v. Howard

Plaintiff owned property in Arroyo Seco in South Pasadena, California. Defendants were constructing a concrete bridge in Arroyo Seco and needed earth and gravel to use as fill and for the concrete. In August 1911, plaintiff granted defendants the right to take all earth and gravel necessary for the project from his property. The contract estimated that 114,000 cubic yards of earth and gravel were needed. Defendants were to pay plaintiff 5 cents per cubic yard for the first 80,000 yards, the next 10,000 yards free of charge, and any amount thereafter at a rate of 5 cents per yard.

Ultimately, defendants took 50,131 cubic yards from plaintiff’s property and 50,869 cubic yards from elsewhere (101,000 cubic yards total). The trial court found that plaintiff’s property contained greater than 101,000 cubic yards of earth and gravel, however, not all of it was above water level. Any amount greater than the 50,131 cubic yards would have needed to be removed by a steam dredger and then dried prior to use on the project.