Portland General Electric Co. v. Taber

Plaintiff Portland General Electric (PGE) appeals, assigning error to the entry of summary judgment in favor of defendant Taber and intervenor Farmers Insurance Company of Oregon. The sole issue presented is whether the proper measure of damages when a motorist negligently destroys a wooden power pole is: (a) the undepreciated cost of the lost pole or (b) the full replacement cost of a new pole. The trial court determined that, as a matter of law, PGE’s recovery was limited to the lost pole’s undepreciated value. We affirm.

The material facts are undisputed. PGE owns and operates an electrical…