In Re Appropriation of Easement

165 N.E.2d 460, 111 Ohio App. 146, 12 Ohio Op. 2d 107, 1959 Ohio App. LEXIS 683
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided December 7, 1959·No. 8681·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

O’Connell, J.

The state of Ohio has taken from the owners for highway purposes the following described real estate:

Parcel No. 29, a perpetual easement for highway purposes, comprising a strip of land 8 feet in depth and 350 feet in width; parcel 29-SL-l, a temporary right to construct a slope easement in accordance with plans and specifications and for no other purpose; and parcel 29-SL-2, a temporary right to construct a slope easement in accordance with plans and specifications and for no other purpose. Said parcels are needed in the construction and improvement of state route No. 125, sections 4.83-11.38, Military Survey 609, Anderson Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, and owned by Dan Linder and Robert Linder.

Before the appropriation, the owners had undivided one-half interests in an assemblage of land on Beechmont Avenue in Mt. Washington, near Cincinnati, Ohio, divided by the owner for economic reasons into land and structures, leased to the Sun Oil Company; into land and structures, leased to the Sixty-Second Shops, Inc.; into land and structures, leased to Porter Paint Company; and into land and structure, at the time of trial vacant but formerly leased to an Electric Appliance Shop. Approximately 25 % of the front of this last structure was appropriated. In the charge of the court the jury was instructed that the -taking of this 25% of the Electric Appliance building could not be carried out without manifest injury to the remaining part of the structure, and hence the state had to take and pay for the *148 entire structure. No error in this respect is claimed by the state of Ohio.

For this real property, the state of Ohio has deposited with the Clerk of Courts of Hamilton County the sum of $45,034, such sum being in accordance with the state’s resolution and finding which was filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton County, Ohio, on May 29, 1958, and numbered A164,561 on the docket of the Court of Common Pleas.

The property owners perfected their appeal from this resolution and finding to the Court of Common Pleas. During the trial which followed, various valuations developed, as follows:

A. Land & Easements
B. Black Top & Signs
C. Structure D. Taken Damage
E. Total
1. Value fixed by the state of Ohio and deposited, $8,434 (R23)
$ 8,600
$28,000
$ 45,034
2. Mr. Mayer, for State, $11,370 (R259)
$2400 (R259.62)
$19,560 (R2752)
$18,240
$ 51,570 (R272)
3. Mr. Fast, for State, $11,370 (R381-2)
$2391 (R302.00)
$15,996 (R309)
$23,988
$ 53,745
4. Appellant, in person, $10,579 (R52)
(Includes B)
$31,450 (R53)
$97,666
$139,695
5. Mr. Spilker, for appellant, $12,600 (R155)
(Includes B)
$23,400 (R156)
$41,480
$ 77,480
6. Mr. Merriman, for appellant, $10,134
(Includes B)
$31,204 (R200)
$90,500 (R200)
$131,938
7. Mr. Wm. Grogan, for appellant, $9,500 (R238)
(Includes B)
$29,000 (R240)
$86,500 (R240)
$125,000
8. Mr. Ben Grogan
Replacement Cost $35,500
9. Jury verdict, $10,500
$26,500
$43,000
$ 80,000

From the jury verdict of $80,000 the state has appealed to this court.

The appellant cites various alleged errors, for the commission of which he asks that the judgment of the trial court be reversed.

*149 Its first assignment of error is that the court erred in permitting the landowner to testify as to the metes and bounds of lease lines on the subject property. However, “In such a proceeding [appropriation matters], the admission and exclusion of evidence as to the value of the land and other related subjects rest to a large extent in the discretion of the trial court, and, where it is apparent that such court did not abuse its discretion in these respects and that no prejudicial error has intervened, a reviewing court will not interfere.” In re Appropriation by Ohio Turnpike Commission, 164 Ohio St., 377, 131 N. E. (2d), 397.

That there was no such abuse of discretion is clear from the record. Counsel for the state had objected to the following question propounded to the co-owner of the premises, Robert Linder: “How much land does the Sunoco Station occupy?” The basis of the objection was that, since the property was being taken as a whole, it was erroneous to admit- evidence showing its subdivisions. The court, however, admitted the evidence because he had been informed by opposing counsel that the purpose of the question was to clarify matters for the better understanding of the jury.

Counsel for the state also maintain that the recitals of the various rentals was in violation of the law as it is to be found in the case of In re Appropriation for Highway Purposes, 166 Ohio St., 249, 142 N. E. (2d), 219. However, in the second paragraph of the syllabus of that case the following is to be found: “In such a proceeding [appropriation of property], evidence as to the reasonable rental value of such real estate may be admissible.”

Moreover, in 29 Corpus Juris Secundum, 1266, Section 273, there is this statement: “It is ordinarily competent to show the rental value of the property.”

And it was held in City of Cincinnati v. Neff, 20 Bull., 8, 10 Dec. Rep., 292, that rental may be proved as tending to show the value of the premises.

Finally, in 18 American Jurisprudence, 988, Section 344, there occurs the following: “Rental value may be taken into consideration as bearing upon the market value * * *.”

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In Re Appropriation of Easement, 165 N.E.2d 460, 111 Ohio App. 146, 12 Ohio Op. 2d 107, 1959 Ohio App. LEXIS 683 (Ohio Ct. App. 1959).

165 N.E.2d 460 (In Re Appropriation of Easement) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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