Opinion ID: 2632741
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Admission of original purchase price

Text: The Cowans maintain that the district court abused its discretion in admitting evidence of the price they paid to purchase the business-goodwill interest in their franchise in 1994. According to the Cowans, this 1994 amount did not fairly reflect the value of their business goodwill on the date the State took the property in 1999, and the admission of this amount prejudiced their case. We do not agree that the district court abused its discretion. The trial court is permitted wide discretion in determining the admissibility of evidence in a condemnation action. [18] Here, the district court allowed evidence of the original price that the Cowans paid for the business-goodwill interest in 1994. The five-year gap in time from the date the Cowans purchased the franchise in 1994 until the date the State condemned the property in 1999 was not so remote, nor any increase in business value so extensive, that the original purchase price was an unfair criterion for the jury to consider in calculating damages. Therefore, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of the price that the Cowans paid for business goodwill when they purchased the franchise.