San Diego Metro. Transit v. Rv Communities

• Citation: 69 Cal.Rptr.3d 705,158 Cal.App.4th 313
• Decision Date: 21 December 2007
• Docket Number: No. D042545.,D042545.
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: SAN DIEGO METROPOLITAN TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT BOARD, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. RV COMMUNITIES, Defendant and Respondent.

69 Cal.Rptr.3d 705

158 Cal.App.4th 313

SAN DIEGO METROPOLITAN TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT BOARD, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. RV COMMUNITIES, Defendant and Respondent.

No. D042545.

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1.

December 21, 2007.

Best, Best & Krieger, Bruce W. Beach, San Diego, and Karen M. Freeman, for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Myers, Widders, Gibson, Jones & Schneider and Katherine E. Stone, Ventura, for League of California Cities and California State Association of Counties, as Amici Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant.

Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps, Charles A. Bird, San Diego; Gordon & Holmes, Frederic L. Gordon and Rhonda J. Holmes, San Diego, for Defendant and Respondent.

HUFFMAN, Acting P.J.

This is an eminent domain case involving partial condemnation of the defendant's land. In March 2005, we issued an opinion in which we decided, among other things, that the trial court properly changed the date of valuation of the condemned property from the date the plaintiff deposited probable compensation to the date of trial. The California Supreme Court granted review and transferred the case to us with directions to vacate our prior opinion and reconsider the cause in light of Mt. San Jacinto Community College District v. Superior Court (2007) 40 Cal.4th 648, 54 Cal. Rptr.3d 752, 151 P.3d 1166 (Mt. San Jacinto). Mt. San Jacinto is an eminent domain case in which the Supreme Court affirmed a Court of Appeal judgment directing the trial court to set the date of valuation as the date the plaintiff college district deposited probable compensation for the condemned property. Having reconsidered the matter, we conclude the decision in Mt. San Jacinto rests on facts that are distinguishable from those before us in this appeal. Based on the unique facts and circumstances of this case, we reaffirm our decision that the trial court did not err in setting the date of valuation as the date of trial.

Plaintiff San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) filed this appeal from a judgment in condemnation awarding defendant RV Communities (RV) compensation for property taken by eminent domain, additional property taken by inverse condemnation, a temporary construction easement, a drainage easement, and severance damage to its remaining property. In addition to contending the judgment should be reversed because the trial court erroneously changed the date of valuation from the date MTDB deposited probable compensation to the date of trial, MTDB contends the court committed reversible error by (1) allowing RVs inverse condemnation cross-action to proceed after MTDB filed its direct condemnation action and ordering MTDB to take additional property not specified in the resolution of necessity; (2) admitting opinion evidence of severance damages that was not properly exchanged under Code of Civil Procedure¹ section 1258.810 et seq.; (3) admitting evidence of a specific plan of development and damages tied to the specific plan; (4) admitting evidence of MTDB's value engineering decisions during the planning phase of the project; (5) not excluding the testimony of RVs appraiser on the ground he failed to use or consider the "zones of value" methodology in reaching his value opinion; and (6) refusing to instruct the jury on the zones of value methodology.² We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On September 13, 2001, MTDB adopted a resolution of necessity to acquire a portion of property owned by RV (the property) for construction of a trolley line known as the Mission Valley East Light Rail Transit Project (the project). RV was using the property as a recreational vehicle resort. MTDB determined it was necessary to acquire fee simple absolute title to 39,514 square feet of the property, a temporary construction and grading easement of 50,254 square feet, and a drainage easement of 5,478 square feet.

On September 18, 2001, MTDB filed its complaint in eminent domain. On September 27, MTDB deposited $79,357 as the probable amount of just compensation for the taking of RV's property. The amount of the deposit was based on a declaration by MTDB's real estate appraiser, James Brabant, stating his opinion of the property's value. On the same day, MTDB obtained an order for possession authorizing it to take possession of the condemned property in 90 days.

RV filed an answer to the eminent domain complaint in November 2001 and in February 2002, withdrew the $79,357 deposited by MTDB. In April the court set trial for August 23, 2002. In June MTDB filed an ex parte application to continue the trial date to April 4, 2003 or later. MTDB asserted RV would be unable to prove its claim for construction damages if trial commenced in August because the impact of the project construction on RVs recreational vehicle park and its tenants would not be known until a majority of the construction was complete in April 2003. The court continued the trial date to January 10, 2003 and granted RV leave to file an amended answer and cross-complaint.

RV filed a first amended answer and a cross-complaint asserting causes of action for temporary severance damages, de facto temporary taking by inverse condemnation, de facto permanent taking by inverse condemnation, and pre and post condemnation delay. In both the amended answer and cross-complaint, RV alleged that MTDB's actions caused a permanent taking of the area of the temporary construction easement.

MTDB filed a demurrer to the cross-complaint, asserting that each of RV's causes of action "must be asserted by way of a properly pleaded answer [to the eminent domain complaint], not through a separate cross-complaint." The court overruled the demurrer and MTDB filed an answer to the cross-complaint.

MTDB moved to bifurcate the cross-complaint issues of liability for precondemnation damages and de facto taking, which were to be tried by the court, from the jury issue of just compensation. Before the hearing date on the motion, MTDB filed an ex parte application to set the trial of precondemnation damages and defenses for January 10, 2003 and the jury trial on valuation at least two months later. At the ex parte hearing the court ordered the requested bifurcation and advanced the court trial date to December 13, 2002.

The parties exchanged lists of expert witnesses and statements of valuation data. On the December 13 trial date, RV dropped all of its causes of action against MTDB except the cause of action for inverse condemnation. The court deemed the first phase of the trial complete, but deferred the issue of whether the "temporary construction easement [plus] a remnant constitutes a taking" to the "phase II valuation" trial. The court scheduled the second phase of the trial to begin on February 28, 2003.

Shortly before the February 28 trial date, RV filed a motion to increase MTDB's deposit of probable compensation to $300,300 and to change the date of value from the date of deposit (September 27, 2001) to the date of trial (February 28, 2003). On February 18, before the motion was heard, MTDB voluntarily deposited an additional $220,643 as probable compensation. On February 21, the court granted RVs motion as to both requests.

After a bench trial on RVs inverse condemnation claim, the court ruled that MTDB had inversely condemned a 20,100 square foot area of the property "representing the toe of the eastern slope" (referred to by RV as the "Eastern Slope Toe"). The inversely condemned area consisted of 12,400 square feet of land within MTDB's temporary construction easement and 7,700 square feet of land that was not within any of MTDB's take areas.

After the court issued its inverse condemnation ruling, the valuation issues were tried to a jury. The jury returned a special verdict finding the following fair market values for the interests taken by MTDB: $1,132,866 for the directly condemned land taken in fee simple absolute; $576,267 for the land taken in fee simple absolute by inverse condemnation; $139,944 for the temporary construction easement; and $78,527 for the drainage easement. The jury also found severance damages of $470,000 and no benefits to RVs remaining property. The court entered a judgment in condemnation consistent with the jury's verdict. MTDB filed its notice of appeal after unsuccessfully moving for a new trial.

DISCUSSION

I CHANGE OF THE DATE OF VALUATION FROM THE DATE OF DEPOSIT OF PROBABLE COMPENSATION TO THE DATE OF TRIAL

MTDB and amici curiae contend the court committed reversible error by changing the date of valuation of the condemned property from the date MTDB deposited probable compensation in the amount of $79,357 to the date of trial.

Under the California Constitution, "[w]hen the government exercises its power of eminent domain, and condemns or damages private property for public use, it must pay `just compensation' to the owner. [Citation.] The just compensation is aimed at making the landowner whole for a governmental taking or damage to the owner's property. [Citations.] In other words, `"the owner is entitled [to] the full and perfect equivalent of the property taken."' [Citations.]" (Mt. San Jacinto, supra, 40 Cal.4th at p. 653, 54 Cal.Rptr.3d 752,151 P.3d 1166, fn. omitted.)³

Mt. San Jacinto noted that under California's statutory eminent domain law (§ 1230.010 et seq.), "if the compensation issue `is brought to trial within one year after commencement of the proceeding, the date of [property] valuation is the date of commencement of the proceeding.' (§ 1263.120.) The condemner may, however, take early possession of the property before litigation is concluded `upon deposit in court and prompt release to the owner of money determined by the court to be the probable amount of just compensation.' (Cal. Const., art. I, § 19; see § 1255.410.) The immediate possession procedure is also known as a `quick-take' eminent domain action. [Citation.] Because compensation is immediately available to the property owner...