Rector of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church v. C. S. McCrossan, Inc.

Otis, Justice.

Plaintiffs have brought this action to recover damages against a road contractor for negligently suffocating the roots of shade trees located on plaintiffs’ church property. The trial court directed a verdict for defendant on the grounds plaintiffs failed to prove damages based on the diminution in value of the real estate and sought only to recover the cost of replacement. We reverse.

This is a companion case to Baillon v. Carl Bolander & Sons Co. 306 Minn. 155, 235 N. W. 2d 613 (1975), in which we declined to depart from the traditional measure of damages in an action for the…