Null

Here we hold that where an appellant challenges a judgment founded on a jury verdict in a civil case on the ground it is not supported by substantial evidence, but the appellant makes no claim that the jury instructions were erroneous, the substantiality of the evidence is measured by rules contained in the instructions given the jury.

Facts and Procedural History

A jury awarded plaintiffs Raymond G. Null and Laverne Anderson $22,376 for conversion of personal property by defendants City of Los Angeles and its employee James F. Wickser. It also awarded $5,000 in punitive damages against Wickser. Both plaintiffs and defendants have appealed from the ensuing judgment. For reasons that shall appear, the facts may be briefly stated, as follows:

In 1981, plaintiffs stored logs on property in Mono County leased by the Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles (Department) to John Lacey, an acquaintance of plaintiffs who gave them permission for the storage.

In the fall of 1981, a Mono County zoning officer told the Department storage of the logs was in violation of a county code and in November the Department demanded that Lacey remove the logs. Lacey relayed…