Opinion ID: 1276694
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Admissibility of pre-condemnation appraisal reports

Text: This Court has never addressed the admissibility of pre-condemnation appraisal reports. However, the United States District Court, in its One Parcel of Land in Prince George's County opinion, found pre-condemnation appraisal reports, along with the testimony of the appraiser who prepared the reports, to be admissible so long as the fact that the appraiser had been employed by the state was not revealed to the fact finder. 342 F.Supp.2d 378, 382. The One Parcel of Land in Prince George's County court reasoned that There is nothing that would preclude such evidence [the pre-condemnation appraisal report], but in order to avoid prejudice, the Court concludes that the appropriate course is to allow the appraiser to be subpoenaed to testify by the Defendants and to allow his appraisal to be admitted, but to exclude any reference to the appraiser's original employer as well as any evidence of the § 4651 determination. Support for this conclusion is found in two earlier decisions of this Court. In WMATA v. One Parcel of Land in Prince George's County, Maryland, et al., 424 F.Supp. 218 (D.Md.1976), this Court determined that a government appraiser could be called to the stand during trial, but it also cautioned that counsel was not permitted to inquire about the appraiser's employer. Id. at 219. The Court reiterated this holding two years later in WMATA v. One Parcel of Land in Prince George's County, Maryland, 450 F.Supp. 122 (D.Md.1978), stating that [a]t trial defendants may call [the government appraiser] but may not bring to the jury's attention the fact that he was originally employed by the Government. Id. at 124. Although WMATA did not raise the current objections in the earlier cases, that fact does not disturb the soundness of the prior rulings of this Court. Therefore, this Court will exercise its discretion and permit the admission of the report and the testimony of the appraiser, but exclude reference to the appraiser's relationship to the government. . . . Id. [8]