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Wong v. 396 Investment Co.5/17/2005
have been entitled to substitute its judgment for that of Hawran and select a higher price per square foot than she did. The jury must base its determination of market value on the opinions of the valuation witnesses; it cannot substitute its own opinion. (Aetna Life & Casualty Co. v. City of Los Angeles, supra, 170 Cal.App.3d at p. 877.)
Still trying, the Marions assert two additional reasons why Hawran's valuation was deficient. First, they assert that the Marions' property had a swimming pool, but that Hawran failed to give an added value to the property based on the swimming pool. However, Hawran opined that swimming pools did not increase property values. Again, it is not up to the jury to substitute its judgment on that point. Moreover, they cite no portion of Laubach's testimony with respect to the affect of swimming pools on valuation.
Second, the Marions assert that Hawran erred in calculating the property value because she applied an erroneous figure for the size of the room addition. Hawran stated that she used a figure of 365 square feet for the room addition, whereas Michael Marion testified that the room addition was 800 square feet. However, the Marions do not cite any portion of the record that would show exactly how Hawran made her calculation. Although we know she determined the room addition to be 365 square feet, we do not know what value per square foot she ascribed to either the room addition or the structure in its entirety. The jury was not at liberty to select a figure to its liking and then apply that figure to the difference in square footage. Moreover, we observe that Hawran's valuation, even taking into consideration her belief as to the size of the room addition, substantially exceeded the valuation of Laubach. $492,000 being the maximum figure to which either expert testified, the jury could not properly find that the Marions' property was worth more.
The Marion judgment is remanded. The court is directed to enter a modified judgment that is reduced by the amount of $6,000 with respect to the fair market value of the Marions' property.
(4) Denial of New Trial Motion
In addition, Anaheim remarks that the court erred in denying its motion for a new trial with respect to the purportedly excessive property damages awards. However, Anaheim cites no authority in support of its assertion. Therefore, the point is waived. (McComber v. Wells (1999) 72 Cal.App.4th 512, 522.)
(5) Suryantos' Property
Anaheim makes a different argument with respect to the judgment in favor of Khim Suryanto. According to Anaheim, Mrs. Suryanto owned a one-half interest in the damaged property and her husband owned the other one-half interest. As far as Anaheim is concerned, this means that Mrs. Suryanto was entitled to claim only one-half of the property damages. Mrs. Suryanto, of course, disagrees. In evaluating the respective parties' positions, we start with a little background information.
The claim filed on behalf of Mrs. Suryanto identified only herself as the claimant, without any mention of either her husband or any co-owner of the property. Similarly, her complaint identified only herself as the owner of the property, in fee simple. The jury returned a special verdict in favor of Mrs. Suryanto in the amount of $690,531, which included $372,000 as the fair market value of the Suryanto property, plus certain relocation expenses and Mrs. Suryanto's emotional distress damages. The court awarded Mrs. Suryanto the $690,531 amount, minus certain offsets, for a total damage award of $407,661.
Thus, the court awarded Mrs. Suryanto property damages equal in amount to 100 percent of the damages su
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