Eminent Domain Case

[djd09]

"When the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission eyed 0.338 acres of land owned by the Abrahams family in Amherst, an appraiser hired by the department valued the plot at $11,865. The Commission offered the family $13,400. After they declined, the Turnpike turned to the courts, suing for eminent domain. It sought the plot, part of 123 acres the family had purchased years back, to fill in an overpass and get rid of a bridge.

The Turnpike won but the hard feelings were only beginning. The Abrahams received a check for just $11,865, the initial figure, which was not only less than the initial offer but magnitudes less than what they thought the land was worth: An appraiser they had hired valued the acreage and damages of the Turnpike's land grab at more than $1 million. So, they sued.

Last week, after three days of proceedings in Lorain County probate court, a jury sided with them, awarding the Abrahams $1,092,081.

"Justice was served," said Dennis O'Toole, the family's attorney. "Both the United States and the Ohio Constitutions require that just compensation be paid to landowners when an agency like the Turnpike Commission takes their land by eminent domain. Landowners in Lorain County and throughout Ohio don’t have to accept an unfairly low offer for their property. They have the right to fight taking in court and let a jury decide what fair compensation for the property really is.”

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-an...-damages-in-ohio-turnpike-eminent-domain-case

Come on. A million dollars for .338 acres. Something smells fishy.

 

[Mr Rex]

Prolly worth $1M to the government. Actually worth $11k to the owners.

 

[JTip]

123 acre parcel is worth $397,414,091 in Ohio.

Dem are some powerball numbers there....

 

[hastalavista]

The bulk of the value must have been damages to the remainder.

 

[residentialguy]

The Turnpike Commission hired a property appraiser who set the value of the land taken from the Abrahams at $11,865. A property appraiser hired by the landowners, however, found the damages to the family to be $1.4 million.

 

[Mr Rex]

Maybe their great grandma's pet goldfish was buried on that 0.338 acre sliver.

 

[JTip]

As with most news stories, they never provide enough information, allowing us to only wildly speculate.

Perhaps a forum Ohioian can do a Right to Know request and get those plans.

 

[timd354]

The bulk of the value must have been damages to the remainder.

Possibly, but who knows without seeing the appraisal reports that were done and/or reading the court transcript of the testimony given. To speculate that something fishy must be going on without knowing anything about the underlying facts is silly.

 

[djd09]

Nothing fishy about one appraisal for $11,865 and one for 1.4 million. I would have thrown them both out and got a neutral third appraisal.

 

[timd354]

The bulk of the value must have been damages to the remainder.

Yes, aside from the 0.338 acres taken, the Turnpike Commission also obtained easements across the remainder of the property:

The Turnpike Commission took 0.338 acres of property owned by the Abraham family in Amherst so it could fill in an overpass and eliminate a turnpike bridge, O’Toole said. The Turnpike Commission also sought additional permanent and temporary easements.