Court Opinion

ID: 9741355
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:54:05.80282+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:23.641927
License: Public Domain

WOLLMAN, Chief Justice
(dissenting).
I agree generally with everything said in the majority opinion but the holding that there was no evidence of damage to the entire unit. The testimony presented by appellee and his witnesses, conceded by the majority opinion to be competent, presented a jury issue on the question of consequential damages to the entire unit resulting from the easement. This testimony revealed that because of the rough terrain, which ranged from marshy areas covered by high reeds to boulder-strewn hills and knolls, it is extremely difficult to monitor quickly and efficiently the 1000-cow herd that the unit is capable of supporting other than by means of a small plane. Appellee may well have over-emphasized the extent to which the transmission line would interfere with his aerial monitoring of the unit. When one considers the terrain and the generally rectangular shape of the unit, however, appellee’s argument that an east-west flight pattern is the most efficient method of surveying the unit is not so implausible as not to form the basis for a finding of damages to the entire tract. In any event, the jury obviously discounted the adverse impact upon the market value of the entire tract outlined in appellee’s testimony.
After considering the evidence as a whole, I am satisfied that the trial court correctly applied the rule laid down in Neb. Elec. Generation & Trans. Co-op. v. Tinant, 90 S.D. 284, 241 N.W.2d 134 (1976), and Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. v. Cutler, 88 S.D. 214, 217 N.W.2d 798 (1974). Accordingly, I would affirm the judgment.
I am authorized to state that Justice Henderson joins in this dissent.^