Morton v. State

8 A.D.2d 49, 185 N.Y.S.2d 321, 1959 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8728
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMay 6, 1959
DocketClaim Nos. 32839 and 34235
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 8 A.D.2d 49 (Morton v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morton v. State, 8 A.D.2d 49, 185 N.Y.S.2d 321, 1959 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8728 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinions

Reynolds, J.

Appeals by both the State and the claimants from judgments of the Court of Claims making awards in two appropriation cases, No. 32839 and No. 34235 and an appeal by the claimants from the denial by the same court of their motion to reconsider and correct its decision rendered therein.

Prior to the taking by the State the claimants owned a plot of land, shaped somewhat like a triangle, located at the southeast corner of the intersection of the then Horace Harding Boulevard and Lakeville Road. Its northerly boundary abutted on Horace Harding Boulevard and was over 1,500 feet in length and its westerly boundary abutted on Lakeville Road for about 970 feet and on the old Lakeville Road for about 67 feet. The appropriations made were for the construction of the Horace Harding Expressway Extension, the first takings occurring on October 3, 1953 when maps were filed in. the Nassau County Clerk’s office as to parcel 3A and parcel 5. Parcel 3A consisted of 10.122 acres which lay on the northerly boundary of the claimants’ land. It ran the full length of the claimants’ frontage along the old Horace Harding Boulevard and to a depth of about 245 feet. This land was to be used for the service road running along the south side of the new expressway and was taken in fee. Parcel 5 consisted of a strip of about 11 feet in width directly south of parcel 3A and amounted to .325 acres. As to this parcel a permanent easement was taken “ for the purpose of constructing, reconstructing and maintaining thereon, excavations and slopes ”. These two parcels make up claim No. 32839.

On July 30, 1956 a map was filed in the Secretary of State’s office covering parcel 187 and setting forth a temporary easement from August 1, 1956 to January 31, 1958, unless sooner terminated, over a plot at the northwest corner of claimants’ land. This plot ran for 320 feet along Lakeville Road from the southwest corner of parcel 3A and 135 feet along the southerly [51]*51boundary of parcel 3A. The easement was for the purpose of constructing a highway detour during the construction of a bridge over Lakeville Road. The taking of this parcel constitutes claim No. 34235.

As to the appropriation of parcels 3A and 5 the court applied the “before and after” test, finding a fair market value of $191,000 before the taking and $87,400 after and allowing damages in the amount of $103,600. The court found that the claimants’ remaining land had been denied the right of access to the service road, but that even if such a right existed it was subject to discontinuance in accordance with the permanent easement appropriated. Interest was suspended from April 3, 1954 to October 21, 1954. The court stated in connection with claimants’ motion to reconsider that it had included in the award an amount for loss of access. As to parcel 187 the court held that the claimants were entitled to the fair rental value of the property taken for the temporary easement and for the loss of fair rental value of the remaining property from August 1, 1956 to April 1, 1957, which was the date of trial. Damages of $3,850 were awarded. Interest was subsequently suspended on both judgments from December 24,1957 to May 2, 1958.

The State throughout has maintained that access to the highway has not been denied and no amount should have been included in the award for same, but otherwise that the award was neither excessive nor inadequate; that the award for the temporary easement was excessive, and that interest was properly suspended. The claimants contend that access had been denied them, that no amount was included in the consequential damages for this loss of access, that there is no support for the acreage value found and that interest was improperly suspended in both claims.

The first question to be considered is whether the appropriations by the State denied the claimants access to the highway on their northerly boundary. Before the taking their land abutted on a public highway and there is no question but that the right of access of an abutting owner is a valuable one. It seems clear that the Horace Harding Expressway Extension is a controlled access highway, but whether these owners whose land borders on a service road, as the remainder of the claimants’ property does, are denied access thereto is not clear. However the court correctly held that in this case, because of the permanent easement, the right of access was denied claimants. (See Spinner v. State of New York, 4 A D 2d 987.) In Spinner (supra) a permanent easement was taken across the [52]*52front of claimant’s property for “ embankments and/or excavation. ’ ’ The court held that the State could have limited its rights under the easement to its then use but that: (p. 988) “ If the State wishes to limit its rights under the easement to the continuance of the presently existing use or to the prospective use envisaged by its expert, it should do so by formal action, by deed, release or otherwise. In the absence of such modification, the damage must be evaluated on the basis of what the State has the right to do under the terms of the easement as appropriated (cf. Dillenbeck v. State of New York, 193 Misc. 542, affd. 275 App. Div. 871; Robinson v. State of New York, 3 A D 2d 326).”

The court pointed out that by building a high embankment the State could completely block access to the claimants’ property. It would seem that the claimants herein find themselves in the same situation, as the State has the right to take such action as would effectively deny access to the service road from their remaining property. Therefore, in the absence of any reservation in the appropriations to the right of access, the lack of access was a proper element of consequential damages.

It must be next considered whether the award adequately compensates the claimants for this denial of access. The court below found a before value of $191,000 which on the State’s figure of 23.65 acres comes to $8,076.10 per acre. Thus the direct damage, for the 10.122 acres taken in fee and giving full value to the .325 acre over which the permanent easement was taken, amounts to $84,373. Subtracting this from the award of $103,600 leaves $19,227 as the amount awarded for consequential damages. The expert for the State testified to $16,600 consequential damage with no consideration or allowance for the loss of the right of access, on the assumption that access had not been denied. He valued the land at $7,000 per acre and his figure of $16,600 consisted of three elements.

(1) Change of grade of Lakeville Road affecting .434 acres — 75% or $2,300.

(2) Damage to area 89 feet in depth south of the easement — 2.8 acres at 25% or $5,100.

(3) Damage to all land remaining after takings due to lessened area and higher cost of development —13.153 acres at 10% or $9,200.

The claimants’ land has been valued on the basis of its use as residential property and if the State has the right to block access to the service road the value of property is substantially [53]*53affected. Of course, this is mitigated here by the fact that the remaining property still has frontage on Lakeville Road. The State also pointed out that houses in this area could not be built facing on State highways so that even before the taking internal streets would have had to be constructed to develop the area. However, in this regard the evidence shows that it would be much more advantageous if the houses could be constructed on streets which ran directly onto the service road.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

New York Central Lines, LLC v. State
101 A.D.3d 966 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2012)
McCurdy v. State of New York
37 A.D.3d 779 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2007)
Kadlec v. State
264 A.D.2d 420 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1999)
Fehlhaber Corp. & Horn Construction Co. v. State
69 A.D.2d 362 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1979)
Kupster Realty Corp. v. State
93 Misc. 2d 843 (New York State Court of Claims, 1978)
Fiesinger v. State
88 Misc. 2d 557 (New York State Court of Claims, 1976)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
8 A.D.2d 49, 185 N.Y.S.2d 321, 1959 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8728, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morton-v-state-nyappdiv-1959.