Com., Dept. of Highways v. Darch
| Decision Date | 17 January 1964 |
| Citation | 374 S.W.2d 490 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS, Appellant, v. J. S. DARCH et al., Appellees. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Kentucky |
John B. Breckinridge, Atty. Gen., William A. Lamkin, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Frankfort, Jarvis Allen, Dept. of Highways, Pikeville, for appellant.
H. M. Shumate, Shumate & Shumate, Irvine, for appellees.
The Department of Highways of the Commonwealth of Kentucky appeals from a judgment of $35,000 in favor of J. S. Darch et al., landowners, in a condemnation proceeding. In general, appellant contends that the testimony as to the property value was erroneously admitted because the witnesses were not qualified or because there was no proper basis for the statement of value.
The property acquired in this proceeding is at the intersection of Darch and Main or Lumber Streets in Beattyville. It is also the intersection of Kentucky Highways 11 and 52. It encompasses 8,904 square feet for permanent right of way, 471 squate feet for temporary easement, and 1,009 square feet for permanent easement. The entire tract fronted 125 feet on Darch Avenue and 560 feet on Lumber Street and contained 70,000 square feet, or 1.61 acres. On the acquired lot there stood a wooden store building, two wooden sheds connected thereto, and a concrete storage shed. The store building was fifty or sixty years old and was being used as a hardware store. Only the concrete storage shed appears to be of recent vintage. A brick dwelling on the original tract was not taken.
The sole issue involved was the difference in market value before and after the taking. Commonwealth v. Sherrod, Ky., 367 S.W.2d 844.
J. S. Darch, an appellee, and three other witnesses testified for the appellees. Over objection to the form of the question, Darch testified that he thought the property taken 'should be worth sixty or sixty-five thousand dollars.' He fixed the value of the whole property before taking at $165,000, but gave no value for the remaining property. On cross-examination he admitted that his evaluation was made on the basis that he did not want to sell the property.
The proper criterion of value in a condemnation case, when part of a tract of land is taken, is the difference in the fair market value of the tract before and after the taking. Commonwealth v. Tyree, Ky., 365 S.W.2d 472. The fair market value may be stated as the price at which an owner who desires to sell but is not required to do so would sell the property in its then condition to a purchaser who desires to purchase but is not compelled to do so. Commonwealth v. Begley, 272 Ky. 289, 114 S.W.2d 127. As was said therein, 'It is not the 'value to the owner' that is the criterion any more than it is the 'value to the taker." Milby v. Louisville Gas & Electric Co., Inc., Ky., 375 S.W.2d 237 (1963). See also City of Newport Municipal Housing Commission v. Turner Advertising, Inc., Ky., 334 S.W.2d 767. The unwillingness of an owner to sell is not a proper measure by which to judge the value of the property to be taken. Nichols, Eminent...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency v. Thirteen Parcels of Land in Squares 859, 912, 934 and 4068 in District of Columbia
...on improper and incompetent grounds, the rule is clear that the testimony should not be admitted. See, e. g., Commonwealth, Dep't of Highways v. Darch, 374 S.W.2d 490 (Ky.1964); San Diego Land & Town Co. v. Neale,88 Cal. 50, 25 P. 977 (1891). This is so because the probative value of such e......
-
Warren v. Waterville Urban Renewal Authority
...462, at page 480; San Diego Land & Town Co. v. Neale, 1891, 88 Cal. 50, 25 P. 977, 11 L.R.A. 604; Commonwealth, Department of Highways v. Darch, 1964, Ky., 374 S.W.2d 490. If it appears that the witness has no reasonable basis whatever for his opinion, then his testimony should be stricken.......
-
LaCombe v. A-T-O, Inc.
...on improper and incompetent grounds, the rule is clear that the testimony should not be admitted. See, e.g., Commonwealth, Dep't of Highways v. Darch, 374 S.W.2d 490 (Ky.1964); San Diego Land & Town Co. v. Neale, 88 Cal. 50, 25 P. 977 (1891). This is so because the probative value of such e......
-
Com., Dept. of Highways v. Herndon
...element of compulsion or unwillingness in either selling or buying. Commonwealth v. Begley, 272 Ky. 289, 114 S.W.2d 127; Commonwealth v. Darch, Ky., 374 S.W.2d 490. It was error to admit evidence indicating an unwilling sale, and it was error to fail to define fair market Ralph Waldrop, a r......