Miller v. Yellowstone Irr. Dist

5 Citing cases

  1. Timpano v. Cent. Mont. Dist. Six Human Res. Dev. Council

    409 Mont. 536 (Mont. 2022)

    See § 39-2-101, MCA (defining "employment" as "a contract by which one, who is called the employer, engages another, who is called the employee, to do something for the benefit of the employer or a third person"); Flanigan v. Prudential Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n , 221 Mont. 419, 423-28, 720 P.2d 257, 259-62 (1986) ; Dare v. Mont. Petroleum Mktg. Co. , 212 Mont. 274, 279-83, 687 P.2d 1015, 1018-20 (1984) ; Gates v. Life of Mont. Ins. Co. , 196 Mont. 178, 184-85, 638 P.2d 1063, 1066-67 (1982). See also Miller v. Yellowstone Irr. Dist. , 91 Mont. 538, 540-42, 9 P.2d 795, 796-97 (1932) (pre-WDEA contract-based wrongful discharge claim). The common law duty to mitigate damages, from which the similar WDEA duty to mitigate damages derives, applies equally in contract and in tort.

  2. Wyatt v. School Dist. No. 104

    148 Mont. 83 (Mont. 1966)   Cited 17 times

    Evankovich v. Howard Pierce, Inc., 91 Mont. 344, 8 P.2d 653 (1932); Myers v. Bender, 46 Mont. 497, 129 P. 330, (1913); McFarland v. Welch, 48 Mont. 196, 136 P. 394 (1913). [5] In Miller v. Yellowstone Irrigation District, 91 Mont. 538, 9 P.2d 795 (1935) involving a wrongful discharge under a contract of employment by the employer, this court said that the measure of damages for a breach of contract of employment by the employer is prima facie the sum stipulated to be paid for the services. It is well-settled that those damages which may fairly be supposed to be within the contemplation of the parties when they entered into the contract are recoverable.

  3. Klemens Son v. Reber Plbg. Htg. Co.

    139 Mont. 115 (Mont. 1961)   Cited 20 times
    Affirming judgment that subcontract for ventilation system installation became binding at the time it was orally made

    The burden of pleading and proving matter in mitigation of damages falls upon the defendant and the defendant has not carried the burden in the instant case since he introduced no evidence on the subject. See Miller v. Yellowstone Irr. Dist., 91 Mont. 538, 9 P.2d 795; Garden City Floral Co., Inc. v. Hunt, 126 Mont. 537, 255 P.2d 252. For an annotation supporting this view and specific cases concerning the exact problem in the instant case, see 17 A.L.R.2d 963, 990. From the amount of damages of $5,079 which the jury awarded, it is clear that it was determined by taking 10 percent of the plaintiff's modified bid of $50,790.

  4. Garden City Floral v. Hunt

    126 Mont. 537 (Mont. 1953)   Cited 29 times
    Holding that a valid tort claim requires "some breach of duty distinct from breach of contract."

    Matter in mitigation of damages is a defense, R.C.M. 1947, [8] sec. 93-3411, and the burden of pleading and proving it rests with the defendant. Compare Miller v. Yellowstone Irr. Dist., 91 Mont. 538, 9 P.2d 795; McKim v. Beiseker, 56 Mont. 330, 185 P. 153. There was nothing in the record from which the jury could have [9] fixed a value on the salvage and in consequence the court did not err in giving the instruction on damages without any reference to the question of the salvage.

  5. Phelps v. Union Central Life Ins. Co.

    105 Mont. 195 (Mont. 1937)   Cited 18 times

    The doctrine is well stated in 2 C.J. 913, section 627: "In an action on a contract the authority of the agent to make the contract is admitted where the answer admits the making of a contract but avers that it was upon a different compensation from that alleged in the complaint, or where the answer admits the contract but alleged terms materially different from the contract set out in the complaint." This doctrine has been adopted by this court in Miller v. Yellowstone Irr. Dist., 91 Mont. 538, 9 P.2d 795, where the proof showed employment, though a different contract was claimed by defendant. (See, also, Hamil v. Baumhover, 110 Iowa, 369, 81 N.W. 600.) It is believed that the allegations and evidence advanced in this action come substantially within this rule and that it is decisive of the question.