Also known as: loss-of-use
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Compensation awarded for the period during which tortiously damaged property cannot be used. The award covers the value of the lost use during repair or replacement and is available whether the property is chattel or land.
Lakewood Manufacturing's delivery truck is struck by another vehicle and requires three weeks of repairs. During that time Lakewood rents a substitute truck to maintain its shipping schedule. The court awards Lakewood the rental cost as compensation for the period the original truck could not be used.
Lillian Locke leases two tractors and a disc to a neighbor who refuses to return them for twenty-six months. Locke proves the fair rental value of the equipment during the detention period. The court awards that amount as compensation for the loss of use not otherwise compensated by return of the equipment.
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Lola Langley owns a farm whose fields are flooded by a neighbor's negligent dam failure. The water recedes after four months, during which Langley cannot plant or harvest. The court awards the rental value of the land for those four months as compensation for the loss of use of the land.
Lexicon Media's warehouse is contaminated by vapors from a nearby rail accident, forcing a three-week closure ordered by health authorities. Lexicon proves it lost the ability to use the facility for its normal operations during the closure. The court permits recovery of damages measured by the value of that lost use.
Lars Lindstrom charters a vessel whose propeller is negligently damaged while the vessel is in dry dock. The repairs extend the lay-up by two weeks, preventing Lindstrom from using the vessel under the charter. The court denies recovery because Lindstrom holds only a contractual interest and not a property interest in the vessel.
Loss of use is recoverable when the plaintiff proves the value of being unable to use the property during the repair period. The award is separate from the cost of repairs and is measured by rental value or equivalent economic loss.
Historically many jurisdictions denied loss of use when property was destroyed rather than merely damaged. Modern authority increasingly permits recovery measured by the time reasonably needed to replace the property.
For land the measure is ordinarily the rental value of the affected portion during the period it cannot be used. The calculation compares fair rental value before and after the harm and continues until the condition is corrected.
A time charterer cannot recover because the charter creates only a contractual right, not a property interest in the vessel. Recovery requires a tort to the plaintiff's own property interest.
…the court treated the tenant’s and owner’s claims separately; the tenant’s claims were purely economic, stemming from the loss of use of its property right, as in the instant case. Further, the city had had notice of the leak since 1957 and should have known about it even earlier. Duty, breach and proximate cause were…