Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Trammell
| Decision Date | 26 April 1965 |
| Docket Number | No. 43499,43499 |
| Citation | 252 Miss. 413,174 So.2d 359 |
| Parties | MISSISSIPPI STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION v. Homer TRAMMELL et ux. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Pack & Ratcliff, Laurel, for appellant.
R. L. Willett, E. R. Alley, Deavours & Hilbun, Laurel, for appellee.
Appellant, Mississippi State Highway Commission, filed in the County Court of the Second Judicial District of Jones County, Mississippi a petition to condemn for highway purposes 9.93 acres of land belonging to appellees. The jury returned a verdict for appellees in the amount of $22,354.00. The commission appealed to the circuit court, where the judgment of the county court was affirmed. The commission contends on this appeal, among other things, that the jury's verdict on which the judgment was based is so grossly excessive as to evince bias, passion and prejudice. We are in agreement with this contention.
Appellees, Mr. and Mrs. Homer Trammell, were the owners of 44 acres of land located about 2.5 miles north of the city limits of Laurel, Mississippi. The land consists of a 40-acre tract in the southeast quarter of section 15 and a 4-acre tract in the western part of section 14, township 9 north, range 11 west, in Jones County. The 4-acre tract borders on U. S. Highway 11 and joins the 40-acre tract at the southeast part thereof. This 4-acre tract constitutes appellees' only access to their 40 acres. The 9.93 acres condemned by appellant traverses the 40-acre tract from the south in a northeasterly direction, leaving 26.5 acres west of the land taken and 7.6 acres on the east side of the land taken. Appellees' home, garage, workshop, and a small barn are located on the 7.6 acres. This property was not disturbed by the taking, and they have the same access to this portion that they had prior to the taking. After the taking of the 9.93 acres, they have no access to the 26.5 acres lying on the west side of their property. The proof shows that appellees, in order to reach the 26.5 acres, will have to travel about 5 1/2 miles north on Highway 11 to a point where they can cross the new highway and then they must come back down the west side of the highway by an access road. This road ends about 2100 feet north of their property. In order to reach their land they will have to obtain access from the landowner to the north. There is another crossing some distance south of appellees' property, but in order to reach their property by this route they would have to obtain a right of way from several landowners.
Proof shows that the property taken and the 26.5 acres are timberland with no improvements of any kind situated thereon. Insofar as the record reflects, this land has never been used for any purpose other than growing timber. The timber was last cut off the property five or six years prior to the trial of this case.
We find in this case, as we have found in far too many condemnation proceedings coming to this Court, a vast difference of opinion by the witnesses for the commission and those for the landowner as to the value of the land taken for highway purposes. It sometimes appears that the witnesses are testifying about entirely different property. The commission offered two witnesses who gave their opinions as to the fair market value of the property prior to the taking and the fair market value of the remaining property after the taking. Appellees also introduced two witnesses who testified as to the before and after value. The values given are as follows:
Witness Before Taking After Taking Damages
----------------- ------------- ------------ -------
For Commission
C. B. Moore $19,275.00
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MISSISSIPPI TRANSP. COMM. v. Highland Dev. LLC
...been a vast discrepancy in valuation amounts. See Miss. Power Co. v. Walters, 204 So.2d 471 (Miss.1967); Miss. State Highway Comm'n v. Trammell, 252 Miss. 413, 174 So.2d 359 (1965); Miss. State Highway Comm'n v. Hillcrest Farm, Inc., 252 Miss. 154, 171 So.2d 491 (1965); Miss. State Highway ......
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Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Ferguson, 44063
...281 (1960); Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Ellzey, 237 Miss. 345, 114 So.2d 769 (1959); and Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Trammell, 252 Miss. 413, 174 So.2d 359 (1965). We have carefully considered these cases in comparison with the facts in the case at bar, and we are fo......
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...281 (1960); Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Ellzey, 237 Miss. 345, 114 So.2d 769 (1959); Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Trammell, 252 Miss. 413, 174 So.2d 359 (1965). There same cases are cited by the appellant in Mississippi State Highway Commission v. A. J. Ferguson, et a......
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Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Williams, 43908
...in this case failed to respond to reason, and that their verdict evinces bias, passion and prejudice. Mississippi State Highway Comm'n v. Trammell, 252 Miss. 413, 174 So.2d 359 (1965); Mississippi State Highway Comm'n v. Roche, 249 Miss. 792, 163 So.2d 874 (1964); Mississippi State Highway ......