Opinion ID: 1262972
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Tallent

Text: In this case, the plaintiff purchased a tract of property located on Old Easley Bridge Road near Greenville. The plaintiff opened and operated a hair salon and tanning studio on the property. At the time she purchased the property, the property had access to Highway 123 via Old Easley Bridge Road. As the roads were then aligned, Old Easley Bridge Road split off Highway 123 as a tangent and gradually curved to intersect White Horse Road, which runs perpendicular to Highway 123. Sometime after the plaintiff purchased the property, SCDOT began construction of a controlled-access diamond interchange at the intersection of Highway 123 and White Horse Road. This re-configuration involved closing access points between Old Easley Bridge Road and White Horse Road. Specifically, SCDOT closed Old Easley Bridge Road to through traffic, removed a traffic light, and made several cosmetic changes along the road. These changes altered the character of Old Easley Bridge Road from a through-connecting surface street to a road ending in a cul-de-sac. As in Hardin, the plaintiff brought an inverse condemnation action against SCDOT. Using the fact that the road re-configuration situated her property on a cul-de-sac and limited her access to Highway 123 by requiring her to navigate a series of secondary roads running through low income neighborhoods, the plaintiff alleged SCDOT had taken her property. The plaintiff alleged the road re-configuration decreased her property value and resulted in her business being less accessible to the public (and thus less valuable). The trial court ruled that the plaintiff suffered a compensable taking, and the court of appeals affirmed. See Tallent v. South Carolina Dep't of Transp., 363 S.C. 160, 609 S.E.2d 544 (Ct.App.2005).