Court Opinion

ID: 9601777
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 01:49:42.166232+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:47:23.673531
License: Public Domain

BAKES, Justice,
concurring specially:
I recognize that this case is being reversed and remanded for another lengthy trial because of what may fairly be described as a narrow procedural irregularity in the first trial. Nevertheless, I believe that in the circumstances of this case that procedural error requires reversal of the verdict and a new trial, and I therefore concur in the majority opinion.
However, I must also add that even absent that procedural error the verdict and judgment in this case could not stand. This case was tried on the theory of inverse condemnation. Though a somewhat unusual variant of the more typical condemnation action, this case is nonetheless still a condemnation action. As such, the final judgment must determine two essential ele*211ments of the cause of action: (1) the property interest taken by the state, and (2) the compensation due the private owner. Here, the judgment fixes the compensation due the respondents, but it is impossible to determine from the judgment, verdict, jury instructions or pleadings precisely what property interest the state unwittingly condemned, i. e., all or part of the fee or just a flood easement. This defect is underscored by the affidavit of Delwin W. Hobza, jury foreman, which states that the jury’s note to the court sought “an instruction as to whether or not the plaintiffs would continue to own the subject real property following entry of judgment.” A determination of what property interests were taken is a necessary prerequisite to any determination concerning compensation. A fixing of the property interests is essential to a final judgment in a condemnation suit and absent that determination the judgment in this case could not be upheld regardless of the procedural irregularities.