Opinion ID: 1913355
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The trial court used the wrong methodology on damages.

Text: Facts reflect that the City of Sioux Falls was engaged in a planning process. As this process was evolving, Kelleys were reacting to the process and began to sell parcels of property which had frontage for a great amount of money. Obviously, Kelleys received what they believed was fair market value for these pieces of property. See Rapid City v. Baron, 88 S.D. 693, 227 N.W.2d 617 (1975) (The measure of damages when an entire tract is condemned is the fair market value of the tract at the time of the taking). In actuality, Kelleys were selling off parts of the whole. Having done so, Kelleys sued in inverse condemnation. However, trial court would have no part of it and dismissed the inverse condemnation. Kelleys then conceptually whirled and, in this lawsuit, now maintain there is a partial taking (back, you see, to the concept of you pay us for taking part of the whole). This all presumes a defacto taking which did not occur. And that was the ruling in the lawsuit on inverse condemnation. Said another way, Kelleys were trying to get in the back door when they could not get in the front dooron the issue of damages. For years, Kelleys were selling off parcels of this entire tract of land. Kelleys originally owned the entire tract. This case is simply not a partial taking case. Kelleys are not entitled to severance damages or consequential damages. Nay, long ago, they, themselves, severed the whole tract, carving it into parcels selling them for big bucks. Severance damages are properly allowable when there has been a partial taking and they are then included in the value of the property taken. Conceptually, they simply cannot be set asidesegregated if you willfrom damage to the remainder. You cannot isolate them. See State Highway Commission v. Hayes Estate, 82 S.D. 27, 140 N.W.2d 680 (1966). Therefore, evidence was permitted to go before the jury on the wrong methodology of damages; i.e., to permit damages on a partial taking theory. Evidence confused the jury on the value of the property which the City of Sioux Falls was, in reality, acquiring. City of Huron v. Jelgerhuis, 77 S.D. 600, 97 N.W.2d 314 (1959). In a nutshell, the facts do not substantiate a partial taking case and we have, before us, a runaway horse on damages. An appellate court should rein in this runaway horse by giving the citizens of Sioux Falls a fair shake.