Julius Lampert and Evelyn Lampert v. Reynolds Metals Company, a Corporation

Julius Lampert and his wife, Evelyn Lampert, own a one-hundred-acre tract of land near Troutdale, Oregon, where they raise agricultural crops including gladiolus bulbs and flowers. On June 30, 1959, they brought this action against Reynolds Metals Company in the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon for the County of Multnomah. The purpose of the action is to recover damages for injuries to plaintiffs’ real property and growing crops in 1957, 1958 and 1959, caused by fluoride gases and particulates emanating from defendant’s nearby aluminum plant. The action was removed to the United States District Court for the District of Oregon because of diversity of citizenship.

The case was tried in the district court before a jury and resulted in a verdict and judgment for plaintiffs in the amount of $10,017. Both sides appealed. We reversed and remanded for a new trial. Reynolds Metals Company v. Lampert, 9 Cir., 316 F.2d 272 , adhered to on rehearing, 324 F.2d 465 .

Under the terms of an amended pretrial order entered after the remand, plaintiffs sought compensatory damages in the amount of $22,911.31, and punitive damages in the amount of $1,000,000. At the second trial the jury…