Gambaro v. Dept. of Justice

• Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
• Area(s) of Law: Civil Procedure
• Date Filed: 01-05-2012
• Case #: A143270
• Judge(s)/Court Below: Nakamoto, J. for the Court; Schuman, P.J.; & Wollheim, J.

To overcome an adverse ruling on appeal, the appellant must overcome each alternative ground used by the trial court to justify its holding.

Gambaro brought suit against the state when his personal affects were destroyed as part of a cleanup of mercury related contamination. Gambaro appealed the trial court’s dismissal of his complaint for failure to identify damages. Gambaro challenged the court’s decision, in part, on a 1983 claim. Gambaro argued that he identified the correct damages in his third amended complaint. The Court of Appeals held that, while Gambaro was technically correct, nonetheless he failed to address the alternative grounds the trial court based its decision. The Court concluded, like the trial court, that Gambaro did not supply sufficient facts to constitute a 1983 claim. Thus, because Gambaro failed to supply sufficient evidence on appeal to address this issue, the complaint was properly dismissed. Affirmed.

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