Court Opinion

ID: 9758148
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 23:13:06.98828+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:47.502256
License: Public Domain

Concurring and Dissenting Opinion by
Mr. Justice Manderino :
I concur with the majority except as to the admissibility of appellant’s rebuttal evidence of the royalty payments. I dissent from the determination that the amount of the royalty payments should be admissible.
The appellant objects that he was not permitted to introduce evidence showing that he had paid royalties to fee owners of other tracts in the assemblage. In one case the amount was in excess of $50,000 and in another case in excess of $100,000. The appellant’s theory was that this testimony should have been permitted in rebuttal to Commonwealth valuation witnesses who placed no value on the appellant’s property interests. I fail to see, however, how this evidence was probative on the value of the appellant’s property interest. The payments made by the appellant are the cost of doing business as an established limestone processing opera*471tion. Such payments may have been relevant in rebuttal to evidence concerning the value of the Porter interest because the Porters would receive such payments as income. The value of the Porter interest, however, is no longer in this proceeding. They have not filed an appeal and the value of their interest would not be involved in further proceedings in this case. Thus, the evidence of the royalty payments will not be relevant and should not be admissible in a new trial.