WPI 30.13 Measure of Damages—Damage to Personal Property—Repairs

Insert this phrase as an element of economic damage in the appropriate damage instruction (WPI 30.01.01, WPI 30.02.01, or WPI 30.03.01) when the evidence justifies its use.

If the claim is for a building or personal property that was completely destroyed and has no salvage value, do not use this instruction. Instead, use WPI 30.15 (Measure of Damages—Damage to Personal Property—Value Before Damage—No Salvage).

RCW 4.56.250(1)(a).

The statute defines economic damages as including “cost of replacement and repair.”

In a malicious mischief prosecution, the cost of repairs is within the “ordinary meaning” of damages, and thus the language concerning the cost of repairs from WPI 30.13 was properly included in instructions to the jury. State v. Ratliff, 46 Wn.App. 325, 328–29, 730 P.2d 716 (1986); see also Bader v. Marlin, 160 Wash. 460, 463, 295 P. 160 (1931); Evers v. Broadview Dairy Co., 147 Wash. 570, 572–73, 266 P. 726 (1928).

In an action to recover damages for a building completely destroyed through negligence, the court held that the “lesser than” rule for measure of damages, comparing reasonable value of repairs against diminution in fair cash value, did not apply. Thompson v. King Feed & Nutrition Serv., Inc., 153 Wn.2d 447, 558–59, 105 P.3d 378 (2005). The court also held that the value of the lost building did not include the value of any uninjured real property that might be attached to the personal property. Thompson, 153 Wn.2d at 459.