Opinion ID: 1773674
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Vandertoll v. Transportation Cabinet

Text: In 1962, the Cabinet instituted condemnation proceedings against the Vandertolls in order to acquire 26.59 acres of their land for use in the construction and maintenance of Interstate 64. The Cabinet took possession of the land by deed in April of 1967 and the Vandertolls were paid $141,790 ($5,332.45 per acre). Subsequently, the Cabinet declared a portion of the land to be surplus property, including 12.858 acres deemed Parcel 224A, the subject of this dispute. Apparently, over the years the Cabinet and the Vandertolls have unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a repurchase of the parcel. The Vandertolls filed suit in Jefferson Circuit Court in May of 1995 seeking to assert their rights pursuant to KRS 416.670. Initially, the circuit court dismissed the complaint, and the Court of Appeals held the case in abeyance pending our decision in Kelly, supra . Subsequently, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings in light of our decision in Kelly . On remand, and in accordance with the holding of Kelly, supra , the Jefferson Circuit Court ruled that the Vandertolls' claim was still barred because the triggering event for KRS 416.670 was the expiration of the eight years in which the Cabinet has to develop the condemned property, and in order for the statute to not have retroactive application, the triggering event must have occurred after KRS 416.670's amendment in 1980. The trial court found that the Vandertolls' land was condemned in 1967 and the eight years in which the Cabinet had to develop the land expired in 1975. The Vandertolls' right of redemption against the Cabinet, pursuant to KRS 416.670, was not established until 1980; therefore, to allow the Vandertolls the benefit of the amended statute would be to give that statute retroactive application. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the Jefferson Circuit Court's summary judgment for the Cabinet. We agree for the reasons set forth below.