Shelby County v. Stallcup

594 S.W.2d 392, 1979 Tenn. App. LEXIS 375
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedNovember 19, 1979
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 594 S.W.2d 392 (Shelby County v. Stallcup) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shelby County v. Stallcup, 594 S.W.2d 392, 1979 Tenn. App. LEXIS 375 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

EWELL, Judge.

This is an action of eminent domain brought by the County of Shelby to condemn 28,452 square feet or 0.653 acres of the defendants’ 2.3 acre homeplace tract for the purpose of extending Yale Road in the City of Bartlett, Tennessee. The right of the County to condemn is not contested; the valuation of the land taken is the only disputed issue. The case was heard by the judge and jury and resulted in a verdict of $20,000.00 as the fair cash market value of the land taken. The County appealed as[394]*394signing six errors and insisting that- the Trial Court be reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial.

In the first and second assignments the County charges that (1) there was no evidence to support the verdict and (2)that the verdict of the jury was contrary to the weight and preponderance of the evidence. A thorough review of the record discloses substantial material evidence to support the jury verdict. We are not at liberty to weigh the evidence or to decide where the preponderance lies. See Crabtree Masonry Company v. C. & R. Construction, Inc., 575 S.W.2d 4 (Tenn.1978). Therefore, the first and second assignments are overruled.

In the fourth, fifth and sixth assignments the County complains of the failure of the Court to grant and include in the charge to the jury three special requests properly submitted to the Trial Judge. The special request cited in the fourth assignment is based upon T..C.A. 13-606 declaring it unlawful to convey land by reference to a subdivision plat not previously submitted to and approved by the Municipal Planning Commission and recorded in the office of the County Register. We find that this statute is only remotely relevant to the facts of this case, and it was not error for the Trial Court to refuse to charge the County’s special request based thereon.

The fifth assignment relates to .a special request based upon T.C.A. 13-608 declaring it unlawful for a building permit to be issued or a building to be erected with reference to any lot unless the street giving access thereto has been accepted and opened or otherwise has received the legal status of a public street. It is uncontro-verted that the property taken in this proceeding is bounded along its entire west boundary by Sycamore View Road. There is no suggestion in the record that Sycamore View Road is other than a public street, and we find no error in the Court’s failure to charge the jury as to the provisions of this statute.

The sixth assignment faults the Court in refusing to charge special request no. 3 as follows:

Gentlemen of the jury, the Petitioner requests me to charge you, and I do charge you, that you may not consider testimony based on the prospective highest and best use of the Stallcup property, which, in this instance was shown to be for subdivision into lots for residential purposes.

With regard to the valuation of the property taken, the Trial Court charged the jury as follows:

The burden is upon the Defendant landowners to show by the greater weight or preponderance of the evidence the value of real property taken. In arriving at a fair cash market value, you will proceed upon the assumption that there is available an owner who is willing to sell, but not compelled to sell, and a purchaser who is willing to buy but not compelled to buy, each with full knowledge of the facts and dealing at an arm’s length transaction.
In determining value, it is not a question merely of the value of the property to the owner or. the value of the property to the county in this condemnation or taking, nor by its needs for the particular property. If it possesses any advantage of location or availability, those characteristics belong to the owners and are to be considered in estimating its value.
It matters not the particular character with which the owner utilizes the property, or whether they use it in the least valuable of all the uses to which it is adaptable. All of its attributes must be taken into consideration in estimating the value of the land.
As a general rule, compensation to the owner is to be estimated by a reference to the use for which the property is suitable, having due regard for the particular situation existing in this case, the community, or that portion of the community in which it is situated. In considering what is the fair cash market value of the property on the 3rd day of December, 1976, [395]*395you’ll take into consideration the value in view of the use of the property from the testimony you have heard from the stand. And you must not single out any single element related to the general value, and must analyze the proof as a whole.
You are further charged in ascertaining and determining the fair cash market value of the real estate in this proceeding, you may take into consideration the sales of real estate of like and similar character and location in the vicinity which are comparable to the real estate here involved. In determining the market value, everything which enhances or depreciates its worth must be taken into consideration. You’re to take into consideration all of the available uses of the property, consider the existing wants and needs of the community and such as may be expected in the immediate future.

We find no error in the foregoing charge. The jury was instructed that all attributes of the property must be taken into consideration, cautioned not to single out any particular element related to the general value and directed to take into consideration all of the available uses of the property. Considering the broad scope of the general charge we find no error in the Court’s refusal to grant this special request. We note that the County does not make an assignment of error directed to impropriety of the Trial Court in admitting any specific testimony or expert opinion of value based on “the prospective highest and best use” of the property. If the Trial Court committed no error in the admitting of such testimony, it could not have been error for the Trial Court to refuse to charge the jury as requested by the County.

For the reasons above stated, assignments four, five and six are overruled.

The most substantial issue on appeal arises from the landowners’ witnesses’ testimony as to- comparable sales and is raised in the third assignment of error:

The defendants were permitted to introduce evidence, over objection, of the value of lots in developed subdivisions as comparable to the raw land in its natural state which the County was compelled to take for highway purposes, although not one step had been taken to subdivide their property by the defendants, nor is there any evidence that they will ever do so. This evidence is remote and speculative and not proper to be submitted to a jury.

The landowners’ proof as to value was introduced through the testimony of three witnesses. Robert Stallcup, one of the owners of the property, testified that in his opinion the property taken had a value of $1.00 per square foot or $28,452.00. Edward A. Thoni, an expert witness, testified that in his opinion the value of the property was $18,500.00 on the date of taking. Jack R. Thompson, another expert witness, testified that in his opinion the property was worth $21,339.16 based on a value of $.75 per square foot.

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594 S.W.2d 392, 1979 Tenn. App. LEXIS 375, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shelby-county-v-stallcup-tennctapp-1979.