Zimmerview Dairy Farms, L.L.C. v. Protege Energy III., L.L.C.

Citations

• 2022 Ohio 1282

Syllabus

CIVIL-BREACH OF CONTRACT-CONVERSION - Where language of lease agreement was open-ended and ambiguous regarding Appellant's duty to restore Appellee's farm property after conducting oil and gas operations, trial court properly allowed extrinsic evidence which supported trial court's finding that Appellant had a continuing duty to repair property trial court's finding that Appellant's failure to leave topsoil stockpile intact constituted a breach of contract language, and that Appellant's use of topsoil stockpile in furtherance of its cleanup/reclamation efforts constituted conversion was well-reasoned interpretation of contract language where trier of fact is free to believe or disbelieve Appellee's claim for damages, trial court did not abuse its discretion in making damage award where Appellant could have easily added pro rata language to \Additional Rents\ clause, trial court properly found clear and ambiguous language of clause supported Appellee's claim for annual lump sum payment.