Difficult Damage Situations
Recovering When Property Has No Fair Market Value
On the evening of January 16, 2008 a Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter struck KEDT-TV’s 919 foot guyed wired tower located 15 miles Southwest of Corpus Christi, Texas. The tower was 40 years old at the time of the loss, at the end of its useful life and was in need of expensive maintenance. The damages caused by the loss exceeded $4,000,000. Our client paid for the full replacement cost of the tower. The U.S. Navy acknowledged liability for the accident but refused to pay for any damage to the tower claiming the tower had no fair market value at the time of the loss. While the issue of fair market value was debatable, Cozen O’Connor’s attorneys accepted the government’s position on the issue of fair market value and then convinced the court that under Texas law, when property is destroyed and there is no fair market value prior to destruction, the proper measure of damages is the cost of replacement. The court agreed with Cozen O’Connor’s position on the issue of damages and awarded the full replacement cost of the tower minus a minor deduction for saved maintenance costs.