Roberts v. Mission Valley Concrete Industries, Inc.

This is an appeal from a judgment issued by the District Court, Fourth Judicial District, in and for Lake County, Montana. After a bench trial, the Hon. James B. Wheelis awarded plaintiff damages, including punitive damages and attorney fees. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

In 1979, Roberts and Mission Valley Concrete, through its vice-president, Warren Harding, entered into a written contract for the modification of three barns on Roberts’ property near St. Ignatius, Montana, into so-called water-flush barn systems for raising hogs. A sewage lagoon was to be constructed. A schematic…