County of Clark v. Sun State Properties, Ltd.

72 P.3d 954, 119 Nev. 329, 119 Nev. Adv. Rep. 36, 2003 Nev. LEXIS 42
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 21, 2003
Docket35856
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 72 P.3d 954 (County of Clark v. Sun State Properties, Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
County of Clark v. Sun State Properties, Ltd., 72 P.3d 954, 119 Nev. 329, 119 Nev. Adv. Rep. 36, 2003 Nev. LEXIS 42 (Neb. 2003).

Opinions

OPINION

By the Court,

Rose, J.:

In this appeal, we consider the proper procedure for determining just compensation in an eminent domain action when there are various interests involved in the condemned property. We hold that the eminent domain statutes codified the undivided-fee rule, which requires the court to first determine the value of the property as a whole, and in a subsequent hearing, to apportion the award among the various interests. Accordingly, we conclude that the district court erred when it first valued the various interests in order to determine the just compensation for the condemned property, and therefore, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

We also consider whether a condemnee is entitled to damages for lost profits resulting from the condemnor’s delay in not bringing the action to trial within two years from when the action was filed. We hold that the condemnee may recover damages for lost profits when the condemnee has demonstrated that the condemnor caused unreasonable delay in bringing the action to trial. Because the record does not indicate what caused the delay, we direct the district court, on remand, to revisit this issue.

[332]*332 FACTS

On June 7, 1995, the County of Clark filed a complaint in condemnation of real property to acquire two parcels of land, which contained apartment units, located in downtown Las Vegas, in order to build a jail facility. Sun State Properties, Ltd., owned one of the parcels in fee simple. Clarence and Ruth Pyles, trustees of The Clarence and Ruth Pyles Trust (the Pyles), owned the second parcel in fee simple, but the Pyles leased the parcel to Sun State for $500 per month.1 The lease for the second parcel was for fifty-five years, ending on February 1, 2018.

On July 14, 1995, the district court granted the County’s motion for immediate occupancy of the two parcels. The district court also ordered the County to post a cash bond of $1,640,000. Following the parties’ stipulation regarding the funds from the cash bond, several lenders that held deeds of trust on the parcels were paid in full, Sun State received $424,724.14, the Pyles received $122,100, and a balance of $77,900 was deposited into an interest-bearing account in trust for Sun State and the Pyles.

Because trial had not commenced within two years, the district court set the valuation date at June 22, 1999, the scheduled trial date. However, trial did not commence until November 30, 1999, because the district court granted the Pyles’ motion for a continuance.

At trial, several appraisal experts presented various valuations for the acquired parcels. Shelli Lowe, Sun State’s appraisal expert, testified that she valued the whole property, as it existed prior to the taking, at $6,100,000. She next valued the remaining property after the taking at $3,915,000. She then valued the parcels acquired by the County at $1,900,000 and Sun State’s severance damages at $285,000 — the diminished value of Sun State’s remaining parcels that were part of the parcels being taken.2 Lowe concluded that total just compensation for the acquired parcels and Sun State’s severance damages would be $2,185,000.

Upon Sun State’s request, Lowe provided an addendum to her appraisal report wherein she valued the leased fee interest and leasehold interest separately. In doing so, Lowe reviewed the rental value of the lease and the term of the lease. Before testifying to the separate valuations, Lowe opined that the improvements on the land would have no value at the end of the lease because, at the end of the term, the improvements would be forty-eight years of age. Nevertheless, Lowe valued the leased fee at $263,000 and the leasehold at $885,000.

[333]*333Edward Rothenberg, a real estate appraiser, testified on behalf of Sun State and the Pyles. He appraised the leased fee interest and the leasehold interest separately, explaining that the two interests must be valued separately because the fee simple estate does not exist as long as it is subject to a long-term lease; thus, the fee simple estate cannot be sold. Rothenberg valued the leased fee at $1,030,000 and the leasehold at $1,000,000, which equates to $2,030,000 for the second parcel. He also estimated Sun State’s damages for lost profits from immediate occupancy in June 1995 to the valuation date of June 1999 at $465,600.

John Kiehlbauch, the County’s appraiser, testified that he valued the whole property before the taking at $5,940,000. He next valued the remaining property after the taking at $3,980,000. He then valued the parcels acquired by the County at $1,790,000 and apportioned the value: the Pyles’ interest at $984,000 and Sun State’s interest at $805,500. He calculated Sun State’s severance damages at $170,000. Kiehlbauch testified that the total just compensation for the acquired parcels and Sun State’s severance damages equaled $1,960,000.

Verne Cox, the Pyles’ appraiser, did not testify at trial, but his appraisal report was submitted at trial. He valued the fee simple at $1,050,000 and apportioned this value as follows: the lease fee at $251,000 and the leasehold at $799,000.

At the conclusion of the trial, the County argued that under NRS 37.115, the district court was required to use the undivided-fee rule, whereby the property is valued under the statutory definition of fair market value, and then, in a subsequent hearing, the court is required to apportion the compensation among the various interests. On the other hand, Sun State and the Pyles argued that the district court was required to value the aggregate of their various interests in the first hearing, and in a subsequent hearing, the court was required to apportion the interests. Thereafter, the district court entered a written decision rejecting the undivided-fee rule as the law in Nevada, ruling that NRS 37.115 only sets forth the procedures in a condemnation action. In so ruling, the district court relied on People v. Lynbar, Inc.,3 a California appeals court case that construed a statute similar to NRS 37.115. The district court explained that the Lynbar, Inc. court construed the statute as a procedural statute, rather than as a substantive rule, such as the undivided-fee rule.

The district court found that Sun State’s leasehold interest was a compensable interest and accepted Sun State’s and the Pyles’ valuation, stating that it was not contradicted at trial. Thus, the district court valued their interests at $3,634,000. Following NRS [334]*33437.115, the district court ordered the parties to present additional evidence on February 7, 2000, regarding the apportionment of Sun State’s and the Pyles’ interests.

After the apportionment hearing, the district court entered its findings of fact and conclusions of law.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
72 P.3d 954, 119 Nev. 329, 119 Nev. Adv. Rep. 36, 2003 Nev. LEXIS 42, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/county-of-clark-v-sun-state-properties-ltd-nev-2003.