Opinion ID: 1665278
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: appraisals of four parcels of land.

Text: ¶ 13. Dedeaux called two expert witnesses to testify as to the plant's value. After the first expert testified, Dedeaux proffered the testimony of William Allen Purvis, who had appraised only four parcels of land which were part of the plant. Improvements such as the installation of a water tower had been made to the parcels, but Purvis appraised only the value of the land without improvements. Gulfport objected, claiming that evidence of the values of individual assets are not relevant to determining the value of an on-going business; the trial court agreed and did not allow Purvis to testify. ¶ 14. Sackman states that the current value of property is an element in determining the value of a utility when it is being condemned by a governmental entity: When the plant of a public service corporation is taken by eminent domain, the corporation is not limited to the value of its physical property, or to the cost of reproducing the same, but it is entitled to be paid for the value of its property and franchises taken together as a going concern and as parts of one working system. In reaching that value there are a number of tests, no one of which is conclusive, but each of which sheds some light upon the subject of the investigation. The elements ordinarily considered in ascertaining the value of the utility are the current value of the tangible property of the company, the earnings, both present and future, of the company, the going value of the plant, and the amount of money required to put the plant in good condition. Sackman, § 15.07, at 15-48 (footnotes omitted). Sackman goes on to list other factors to be considered: earnings, id. at § 15.07[1]; cost of construction, id. at § 15.07[2]; reproduction costs, id. at § 15.07[3]; capital stock, id. at § 15.07[4]; and intangible property, id. at § 15.10. Finally, Sackman emphasizes the fact that, since all of these different factors must be considered, different methods of appraisals must be used and one method of appraisal will not be reliable for evaluating all of the different facts. ¶ 15. All elements of property should be considered in arriving at the valuation of a utility: We hold that the measure of damages . . . is the difference between the fair market value of the business as a going concern immediately before the damage and the fair market value of any assets remaining after the business closed and ceased as a public utility. In determining the before value of the utility business so damaged, every element of the plan or system which was reasonably required for the operation thereof and which entered into and remained a part thereof should be taken into account. . . . The value of the utility as a going concern is obtained by taking a comprehensive view of each and all of the elements of property, tangible and intangible, and considering them as inseparable parts of the business entity. City of Jackson v. Creston Hills, Inc., 252 Miss. 564, 172 So.2d 215, 221-22 (1965) (cited with approval in Bear Creek Water Ass'n v. Town of Madison, 416 So.2d 399, 401-02 (Miss.1982)) (emphasis added). Therefore, the value of the land upon which the utility plant was constructed should be considered as just one of the factors in determining just compensation. ¶ 16. We find that the trial court erred when it did not allow Dedeaux to put on proof of valuation of the four parcels of land without improvements.