Opinion ID: 1293558
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: mooneyham tract

Text: The department required approximately nine-tenths of an acre from a tract of land containing approximately 40 acres. The improvement project required the land to replace an existing 20 ft. dirt road with a 20 ft. paved road, centered in a new 50 ft. right-of-way with ditch work and drainage provided; a curve adjacent to the property was also relocated. The landowner presented an expert appraisal witness who testified that just compensation for the land taken was $1,485.00; the highway department's expert witness valued the same property at $1,350.00. The highway department's expert testified that benefits to the remaining property exceeded the value of the property taken. The jury obviously agreed. The trial judge refused the landowner's motion for a new trial, but after he granted the motion in the Cuttino case (also here on appeal), he reversed his previous ruling and granted Mooneyham a new trial also, ruling that the verdict was contrary to the fair preponderance of the evidence.