Hassoldt
Hassoldt v. Patrick Media Group, Inc.
Opinion
Opinion
Schneider, J.
I
Factual Background
Plaintiffs and appellants Judy and William Hassoldt (the Hassoldts) own a piece of property in Redondo Beach, on which they operate a preschool called Der Kindergarden. The Hassoldts established a trust (the Yankee Trust), which owns the land and leases it to Der Kindergarden, Inc., a corporation. Neither Der Kindergarden, Inc., nor the Yankee Trust is a party to this litigation.
Defendant and appellant Patrick Media Group, Inc. (Patrick), is an outdoor advertising company. In September of 1986, it purchased the assets and some of the liabilities of another outdoor advertising company, Foster & Kleiser.
In October 1992, a tree located on the Hassoldts’ property was severely trimmed. When William Hassoldt discovered the tree had been trimmed, he contacted Daniel Voorhees, the employee of Patrick in charge of Patrick’s tree-cutting activities. Ultimately, Patrick denied it was responsible for cutting the tree. The Hassoldts suspected Patrick had trimmed the tree on their property to better expose its outdoor billboard.
The Hassoldts filed a complaint against Patrick which contained multiple causes of action. The gravamen of the Hassoldts’ complaint…