## Facts

- Paul and Verla Martin owned a cattle ranch near Troutdale, Oregon.
- Reynolds Metals Company operated a nearby aluminum reduction plant.
- The plant emitted fluoride compounds as gases and particulates that became airborne and settled on the Martins’ land.
- The fluoride contamination allegedly poisoned the Martins’ cattle by contaminating forage and water and rendered the land unfit for livestock grazing from August 22, 1951 to January 1, 1956.
- The Martins sought damages for loss of use of the land and for deterioration of the land due to lack of grazing, plus punitive damages.
- The intrusion consisted of microscopic, invisible particles and gases rather than a direct entry by a person or large object.

## Issues

1. Whether airborne fluoride compounds that physically settle on another’s land constitute trespass or only private nuisance.
2. Whether the six-year statute of limitations for trespass (ORS 12.080), rather than the two-year period for nontrespassory injury to land (ORS 12.110), governs the damages claim.

## Decision

- The Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the judgment for the Martins.
- The court held that the deposition of fluoride compounds on the Martins’ land was a trespass because it invaded their interest in exclusive possession through a physical intrusion.
- Because the claim sounded in trespass, the six-year limitations period applied, permitting recovery for the full period alleged.
- The court left undisturbed the trial court’s award of $71,500 for loss of use and $20,000 for land deterioration, and the denial of punitive damages.

## Legal Principles

- Trespass protects the possessor’s interest in exclusive possession; nuisance protects the interest in use and enjoyment.
- A physical intrusion can constitute trespass even if it consists of invisible or microscopic matter; size and visibility are not determinative if matter enters and occupies the land.
- Conduct may support both trespass and nuisance theories, but a court may treat the claim as trespass when the plaintiff pleads trespass and proves a physical invasion of the land.
- Classification as trespass can determine the applicable statute of limitations and the temporal scope of recoverable damages.

## Conclusion

The court treated industrial emissions that physically deposit particulate and gaseous matter onto neighboring land as a trespass invading exclusive possession, thereby applying the longer trespass limitations period and affirming damages for the entire claimed contamination period.


Martin v. Reynolds Metals Co., 221 Or. 86, 342 P.2d 790 (Or. 1959)