United States v. 14,003.49 Acres of Land

570 F. Supp. 1367, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13692
District Court, W.D. Michigan·Decided September 16, 1983·No. Nos. G78-153 C.A., G78-216 C.A. and G78-217 C.A.·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

OPINION

NOEL P. FOX, Senior District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Presently before the court is the second commission report in this lengthy condemnation action. The first commission report was filed in May 1979, following extensive hearings held in 1978. Two commissioners joined in the report, which recommended just compensation of $6,454,799. The third commissioner filed a separate dissenting opinion recommending a higher, but unspecified, amount.

In May 1980, this court remanded the matter to the commission, primarily to consider whether recent significant changes in the market for cherry production lands had resulted in a new higher and best use for the interior portion of this 14,000 acre is[1369] land. The latest commission report, following extensive hearings in 1980, recommends just compensation of $9,205,099. Again, one of the three commissioners has dissented, recommending just compensation of $19,180,390. Plaintiff United States accepts the majority report as being error-free, although suggesting that a lower value could have been reached based on the evidence. The defendant landowners argue that the majority report is clearly erroneous throughout, and that it should therefore be rejected in favor of the minority report.

This action has been particularly complex because it involves essentially three separate “properties.” The parties agree that the island includes 97,000 feet of prime beach frontage (including the frontage on Lake Manitou, an inland lake), and another 25,000 front feet of bluff frontage. It is agreed that the highest and best use of this frontage, to a depth of 1320 feet, is for recreational and second home development. Although the front footage values are greatly disputed, it is agreed that the bluff frontage is worth one-half the value per front foot of the prime footage.

The second “property” is timber. The parties agree that the island contains approximately 57 million board feet of merchantable timber. There is little dispute as to species or size distribution. It is also generally accepted that, given the state of the timber on the island, its highest and best use is not for management for sustained yield, but rather it should be valued based on the amount of economically removable merchantable timber extant on the island as of the date of trial. Major points of dispute include the quality of the timber, its market value, the amount that can be removed given economic (and perhaps aesthetic) constraints, and whether to discount the value of standing timber which will be harvested over a number of years.

The third distinguishable “property” is the 10,083 acres of interior land. The highest and best use of this land is in dispute. The government argued, and the commission majority found, that its highest and best use is for recreational development. In 1978 the landowners also considered this the highest and best use. The landowners argued in 1980, and the dissenting commissioner determined, that the highest and best use of the interior land whs agricultural land used for cherry production. It is accepted by all that cherries can be grown on the island. At issue is whether the cherries grown on the island could compete in the marketplace with mainland-grown cherries.

There is a fourth “property” which neither commission report suggests should be compensated for. This is industrial sand deposits found on the southern end of the island. The landowners argued strongly in 1978 that the sand had value which they should be compensated for. This was not a major issue in the 1980 hearings, and in their Supplement to Defendant’s Objections to Preliminary Report (Majority), the landowners argue that sand was not a component of value in their 1980 analysis of just compensation.

Since the commission reports have been filed, the court has received and reviewed numerous briefs and has heard two days of final argument.

APPLICABLE LAW

The law governing condemnation actions is quite straightforward. “Just compensation includes all elements of value that inhere in the property, but it does not exceed market value fairly determined.” Olson v. United States, 292 U.S. 246, 255, 54 S.Ct. 704, 708, 78 L.Ed. 1236 (1934). The landowners are entitled to that value of their land which it would have if put to its highest and best use. Cf. Id. (“highest and most profitable use”). This action is somewhat unusual in that it is clear that the landowners have not in the past been particularly interested in putting the island to its highest and best use, i.e., they have not been managing it with an eye towards profits. Nonetheless, they are entitled to whatever the island is worth if put to its highest and best use and are essentially free to suggest whatever highest and best use they believe the evidence will support.

Condemnation actions are governed by Fed.R.Civ.P. 71A. Rule 71A(h) provides [1370] that where a commission is appointed to determine just compensation, its report shall be determined by a majority and shall be dealt with by the court in accordance with the practice prescribed for reports of masters in Fed.R.Civ.P. 53(e)(2). That rule provides in relevant part, “the court shall accept the master’s findings of fact unless clearly erroneous.” This rule’s application to condemnation cases was discussed by the Supreme Court in United States v. Merz, 376 U.S. 192, 198-199, 84 S.Ct. 639, 643-644, 11 L.Ed.2d 629 (1964):

Since by Rule 71A(h) the report has the effect of a master’s findings of fact under Rule 53(e)(2), the commission should be instructed as to what kind of findings should be included. Conclusory findings are alone not sufficient, for the commission’s findings shall be accepted by the court “unless clearly erroneous” .... The commissioners need not make detailed findings such as judges do who try a case without a jury .... The path followed by the commissioners in reaching the amount of the award can, however, be distinctly marked. Such a requirement is within the competence of laymen; and laymen, like judges, will give more careful consideration to the problem if they are required to state not only the end result of their inquiry, but the process by which they reached it.

(Footnotes omitted.)

As explained in Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 2614:

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United States v. 14,003.49 Acres of Land, 570 F. Supp. 1367, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13692 (W.D. Mich. 1983).

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