“To recover damages for harm to property, Plaintiff must prove the reduction in the property’s value/ the reasonable cost of repairing the harm. [If there is evidence of both, Plaintiff is entitled to the lesser of the two amounts. [However, if Plaintiff has a genuine desire to repair the property for personal reasons, and if the costs of repair are reasonable given the damage to the property and the value after repair, then the costs of repair may be awarded even if they exceed the property’s loss of value.]] [To determine the reduction in value, you must determine the fair market value of the property before the harm occurred and then subtract the fair market value of the property immediately after the harm occurred. The difference is the reduction of value. “Fair market value” is the highest price for the property that a willing buyer would have paid to a willing seller, assuming: 1. That there is no pressure on either one to buy or sell; and 2. That the buyer and seller know all the uses and purposes for which the property is reasonably capable of being used.] [To determine whether the cost of repairing the harm is reasonable, you must decide if there is a reasonable relationship between the cost of repair and the harm caused by Defendant’s conduct. You must consider the expense and time involved to restore the property to its original condition compared to the value of the property]. If you find that the cost of repairing the harm is not reasonable, then you may award any reduction in the property’s value.]”
[CACI Jury Instructions [citations omitted]]
