In Re Appropriation of Easements From Leas

449 N.E.2d 780, 5 Ohio App. 3d 120, 5 Ohio B. 278, 1981 WL 4802, 1981 Ohio App. LEXIS 10095
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 6, 1981
Docket80-J-30
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 449 N.E.2d 780 (In Re Appropriation of Easements From Leas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Appropriation of Easements From Leas, 449 N.E.2d 780, 5 Ohio App. 3d 120, 5 Ohio B. 278, 1981 WL 4802, 1981 Ohio App. LEXIS 10095 (Ohio Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

Lynch, P.J.

Defendant-appellant, David L. Weir, Director of the Ohio Department of Transportation, is appealing the verdict of the jury in an appropriation case and the judgment of the court of common pleas approving such verdict which assessed the total compensation for plaintiffs-appellees as $39,241 based as follows: property take $3,935; damage to residue $34,606; and temporary take $700.

Plaintiffs own land with a frontage of one hundred fifty feet on State Route 22 in the village of Wintersville on which there is a building in which they conducted an electrical supply and fixture store. Defendant appropriated part of the frontage of plaintiffs’ property for the purpose of widening State Route 22. Defendant’s testimony was that the value of the property to be appropriated and the damage to the residue amounted to $20,675.

Prior to the widening of State Route 22, plaintiffs’ building was approximately thirty-six feet from the west corner to the edge of the paved road and was approximately thirty-four feet from the east corner to the road. However, at that time, the distances between plaintiffs’ building and the existing right-of-way of the highway were approximately nineteen and one half to twenty feet from the west corner and approximately seventeen and one half or eighteen feet from the east corner. After the highway was widened, the distance from the west corner of plaintiffs’ building to the edge of the pavement was approximately nineteen to twenty feet from one corner and sixteen feet from the other corner. The frontage of plaintiffs’ property taken by the defendant was 13.55 feet at the west end and 2.59 feet on the east end.

Defendant’s first assignment of error is that the court of common pleas erred to the prejudice of defendant in that it overruled defendant’s challenge for cause of juror Bolitho and allowed her to serve on the jury.

During the voir dire examination of prospective jurors, defendant exhausted his peremptory challenges before prospective juror, Mrs. Naomi J. Bolitho, was called. When Mrs. Bolitho was asked if she would agree that the state is entitled to take her property for a needed purpose such as a highway, she answered: “I suppose.”

When asked whether it would cause her any problem to sit on the jury for this appropriation case, she answered: “I honestly can’t tell you unless it would happen to me. I couldn’t tell you.” Upon further questioning she stated that she did not like the right of the state to appropriate property.

The trial court then gave an instruc *121 tion as to the right and need of the government to appropriate property. When Mrs. Bolitho was again questioned whether she believed that the state should have the right to appropriate property, she answered, “I believe they do.”

At a bench discussion plaintiffs’ counsel stated that he thought that Mrs. Bolitho had “covered it” and the trial court stated as follows:

“I have a feeling that she’s giving the answer that she thinks I want her to give, giving this long explanation and that seemed to be the attitude. That’s what I don’t too much care about.”

Plaintiffs’ counsel then questioned Mrs. Bolitho about her belief in the Constitution and laws of the state of Ohio and then asked this question:

“* * *, could you sit on this jury and decide this case, be fair to the Department of Transportation, which is the State of Ohio, and to be fair to the property owner, Mr. and Mrs. Leas.”

Mrs. Bolitho responded “yes” to the above question.

Defendant’s counsel then moved that Mrs. Bolitho be dismissed as a juror for cause to which the trial court responded as follows:

“I think I’m going to have to grant that because I’ve already put on the record my opinion that I feel she’s only answering the questions because I more or less strong-armed her into doing it. It seems to me any verdict that wouldn’t be agreeable with the State would be ap-pealable.”

Plaintiffs’ counsel strenuously objected to the dismissing of Mrs. Bolitho as a juror. Then the trial court stated as follows:

“With what I’ve said that’s on the record if the property owner still wants her on and with all the problems that that entails, I’ll let her serve then and I’ll overrule the objection.”

R.C. 2313.43 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

“* * * any petit juror may be challenged on suspicion of prejudice against or partiality for either party * * *. The validity of such challenge shall be determined by the court and be sustained if the court has any doubt as to the juror’s being entirely unbiased.”

In Lingafelter v. Moore (1917), 95 Ohio St. 384, the court, in pertinent part, stated at pages 390-391, as follows:

“* * * Under the provisions of [G.C.] Section 11438 [now R.C. 2313.43] it is mandatory upon the court to sustain a challenge if it has any doubt as to the juror being entirely unbiased. * * * [To] overrule the challenge of plaintiffs in error after their peremptory challenges had been exhausted, thereby denying them their constitutional right to an impartial jury, warrants a reversal of the judgment below.”

This case can be distinguished from cases coming under Crim. R. 24(B)(9) because this is not a case where subject juror had a previously formed or expressed opinion with reference to the outcome of this case but rather such juror had an expressed bias against the right of the state of Ohio to appropriate property even though she recognized the right of the state to appropriate property.

In this case the trial judge expressed his doubts of the impartiality of Mrs. Bolitho and indicated that he thought about sustaining defendant’s motion to dismiss her for cause as a juror. However, after strenuous objection by plaintiffs’ attorney, the trial court overruled the motion.

Pursuant to R.C. 2313.43 and the Lingafelter case, we hold that the trial court committed error in overruling defendant’s challenge for cause of Mrs. Bolitho. Therefore, we sustain defendant’s first assignment of error.

Defendant’s second assignment of error is that the court of common pleas erred to the prejudice of the appellant in denying appellant’s motion in limine and permitting testimony concerning vibra *122 tions, dust, litter, and dirty windows allegedly emanating from the highway.

Although the widening of State Route 22 substantially reduced the distance of plaintiffs' building from the edge of the highway from approximately thirty-four to thirty-six feet to approximately sixteen to twenty feet, the fact is that most of the newly constructed highway was built on the existing right of way which was approximately seventeen and one half to nineteen and one half feet from plaintiffs’ building prior to subject widenihg.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
449 N.E.2d 780, 5 Ohio App. 3d 120, 5 Ohio B. 278, 1981 WL 4802, 1981 Ohio App. LEXIS 10095, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-appropriation-of-easements-from-leas-ohioctapp-1981.