City of McCall v. Seubert

130 P.3d 1118, 142 Idaho 580, 2006 Ida. LEXIS 26
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 24, 2006
Docket31191
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 130 P.3d 1118 (City of McCall v. Seubert) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of McCall v. Seubert, 130 P.3d 1118, 142 Idaho 580, 2006 Ida. LEXIS 26 (Idaho 2006).

Opinion

TROUT, Justice.

The City of McCall (City) appeals from a trial court judgment entered in accordance with a jury verdict in an eminent domain proceeding, awarding taking and severance damages to the property owners, J.P. Seubert 1 and Cherie Seubert (Seubert), and business damages to Clearwater Concrete, Inc. (Clearwater) and Valley Paving & Asphalt, Inc. (Valley), two businesses located on the Seubert property.

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Defendant Seubert owns an approximately fifty-acre parcel of land in the City of McCall, which contains considerable sub-surface gravel and sand mineral deposits. Since the early 1990’s, Clearwater and Valley, two closely-held family businesses, in which Seubert owns a substantial shareholder interest, have operated a concrete plant and asphalt plant on the Seubert property. In March 2003, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) and the City brought a quick-take action against Seubert to condemn a 3.82-aere strip of property that would enable the ITD to continue a roadway project, using the condemned land. Because the strip taken for the roadway ran directly through Clear-water’s and Valley’s existing operating platforms, the businesses sought to intervene as parties in the condemnation case and were ultimately permitted to do so; Clearwater and Valley (collectively, Intervenors) asserted claims for business damages in connection with the proposed condemnation.

The parties were unable to agree on a reasonable amount of just compensation for the taking and, therefore, this issue was tried to a jury. After a six-day trial, the jury awarded Seubert taking and severance damages of $546,726; Clearwater, $150,191.88 in business damages for relocation costs; and Valley, $333,966.12 in business damages for relocation costs and for the expense of widening the City’s roadway to include additional lanes in order for trucks to safely access the Seubert property. The trial court entered a judgment in accordance with the verdict.

Seubert and Intervenors then filed a joint motion for attorney fees, costs and prejudgment interest. The court awarded Seubert and Intervenors $135,000 in attorney fees, costs allowed as a matter of law and prejudgment interest, but denied their request for discretionary costs. The City filed a variety of post-trial motions, including a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial, all of which were denied by the district court.

The City appeals the awards to Seubert and Intervenors. First, the City argues that Intervenors do not have a recognizable property interest that would entitle them to business damages. Next, the City contends that the jury overvalued Seubert’s property and, therefore, the trial court erred in denying the City’s motion for a new trial. The City also contends that it should be granted a new trial because the trial court abused its discretion in excluding and permitting certain witnesses’ testimony at trial. Finally, the City *584 claims that the trial court erred in awarding Seubert and Intervenors prejudgment interest, attorney fees and costs as a matter of right. On cross-appeal, Seubert and Intervenors argue the trial court erred in denying their claim for discretionary costs.

II.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

“The determination of the meaning of a statute and its application is a matter of law over which this Court exercises free review.” Woo dburn v. Manco Prods., Inc., 137 Idaho 502, 504, 50 P.3d 997, 999 (2002). In order to grant a new trial pursuant to I.R.C.P 59(a)(6) on the ground of insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict or other decision, or that it is against the law, the trial court must determine both (1) the jury verdict is against the clear weight of the evidence, and (2) a new trial would produce a different result. Heitz v. Carroll, 117 Idaho 373, 788 P.2d 188 (1990). When considering an appeal from a district court’s ruling on a motion for new trial, this Court applies the abuse of discretion standard. Richard J. and Esther E. Wooley Trust v. DeBest Plumbing, Inc., 133 Idaho 180, 183, 983 P.2d 834, 837 (1999).

III.

ANALYSIS

1. Intervenors’ business damages

a. Claim for business damages

Idaho Code § 7-711 sets forth the requirements a business must meet in order to make a claim for business damages in an eminent domain proceeding. I.C. § 7-711(2) allows “damages to any business qualifying under this subsection having more than five (5) years’ standing which the taking of a portion of the property and the construction of the improvement in the manner proposed by the plaintiff may reasonably cause.” There are two independent ways to qualify under I.C. § 7-711(2): “[T]he business must be owned by the party whose lands are being condemned or be located upon adjoining lands owned or held by such party.” (emphasis added).

The City argues Intervenors are not entitled to business damages under I.C. § 7-711 because they have no legally compensable interest in the underlying property. Because they do not own the property and do not have a written lease or agreement with Seubert to remain on the land, the City contends Intervenors have a mere unilateral expectation to continue to use the. property or, at-most, a month-to-month lease.

At the outset, this Court notes that the City’s characterization of Intervenors as mere lessees with no right to remain on the property ignores the factual circumstances of this case, i.e., for over a decade, the Seubert family has made substantial expenditures of time and money to build and maintain the asphalt and concrete plants on the Seubert property in order to capitalize on the subsurface sand and mineral deposits. The City offers no evidence that these family-run businesses will not continue on the Seubert property for the indefinite future. Despite that, the City’s argument that an interest in remaining on the land sufficient to claim business damages must be proven by a written lease or agreement attempts to import a requirement into the statute that does not exist. A business need only meet the statutory requirements of I.C. § 7-711 in order to make a claim for damages resulting from a taking of the underlying property. “The right to receive business damages ... resulting from a taking of land is strictly a statutory right----” 29A C.J.S. Eminent Domain § 150 (2004).

Intervenors fall squarely within the parameters of I.C. § 7-711. There is no question that Intervenors have been on the Seubert property for over five years. In addition, both Valley and Clearwater qualify under subsection (2) of I.C. § 7-711. Valley satisfies the first prong of I.C. § 7-711(2) that allows compensation to be paid to a business “owned by the party whose lands are being condemned.” Valley is effectively owned by Seubert as Cherie Seubert is the majority shareholder of Valley and thereby controls the corporation.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
130 P.3d 1118, 142 Idaho 580, 2006 Ida. LEXIS 26, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-mccall-v-seubert-idaho-2006.