Houston Unlimited, Inc. Metal Processing v. Mel Acres Ranch

In this case, the owner of land that was contaminated by a neighbor seeks to recover for loss of the land’s market value based on “stigma” that remained after the contamination subsided. Although some federal and other states’ courts have recognized a legal right to recover stigma damages, we have never addressed the issue. We decline to do so here, however, because even if we recognized such a right, the landowner’s evidence of lost market value in this case is not legally sufficient to support the trial court’s judgment. We must therefore reverse and render a take-nothing judgment in the…