§ 13a-76 — Reassessment of damages or benefits by judge trial referee or court.

Connecticut § 13a-76

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 13a: Highways and Bridges
• Ch. 238: Highway Construction and Maintenance

Text

Any person claiming to be aggrieved by the assessment of such special damages or such special benefits by the commissioner may, at any time within six months after the same has been so filed, apply to the superior court for the judicial district within which such land is situated for a reassessment of such damages or such benefits so far as the same affect such applicant. The court, after causing notice of the pendency of such application to be given to the commissioner, may appoint a judge trial referee to make such reassessment of such damages or such benefits. The court or such judge trial referee, after giving at least ten days' notice to the parties interested of the time and place of hearing, shall hear the applicant and the commissioner, may view the land, and shall take such testimony as the court or such judge trial referee deems material and shall thereupon reassess such damages and benefits so far as they affect such applicant. The reassessment by the court or such judge trial referee shall take into account any evidence relevant to the fair market value of the property, including evidence of required environmental remediation by the Department of Transportation. The court or such judge trial referee shall make a separate finding for remediation costs, and the property owner shall be entitled to a set-off of such costs in any pending or subsequent legal action to recover remediation costs for the property. If the amount of the reassessment of such damages awarded to any such property owner exceeds the amount of the assessment of such damages by the commissioner for such land, the court or such judge trial referee shall award to such property owner such appraisal fees as the court or such judge trial referee determines to be reasonable. If no appeal to the Appellate Court is filed within the time allowed by law, or if one is filed and the proceedings have terminated in a final judgment finding the amount due the landowner, the clerk shall send a certified copy of the assessment of the commissioner and of the judgment to the Comptroller, who shall, upon receipt thereof, draw an order upon the Treasurer in favor of the landowner for the amount due the landowner as damages. The pendency of any such application for reassessment shall not prevent or delay the layout, extension, alteration, widening, change of grade or other improvement of any such highway.

Legislative History

(1949 Rev., S. 2267; 1957, P.A. 632, S. 2; 1958 Rev., S. 13-150; 1963, P.A. 226, S. 76; P.A. 78-280, S. 2, 127; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-29, S. 24, 82; P.A. 86-274; P.A. 96-37, S. 3; P.A. 01-75, S. 1, 3; 01-186, S. 2; P.A. 02-132, S. 72.) History: 1963 act replaced previous provisions: See title history; P.A. 78-280 substituted “judicial district” for “county”; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-29 deleted reference to supreme court and substituted appellate court in lieu thereof; P.A. 86-274 specified that the referee appointed to reassess damages and benefits shall be a “trial” referee, provided that the trial referee rather than the court or judge award appraisal fees determined to be reasonable, deleted provisions which required the referee to submit a report of his reassessment to the court for acceptance or rejection by the court and the appointment by the court of another referee if it rejected the report, and added provision defining trial referee; P.A. 96-37 changed state trial referee to judge trial referee; P.A. 01-75 added provisions requiring the reassessment of the trial referee to take into account the fair market value of the property, including environmental remediation by the Department of Transportation, requiring such referee to make a separate finding for remediation costs and requiring a set-off of such cost to the property owner in any pending or subsequent legal action and made technical changes for the purposes of gender neutrality, effective June 6, 2001; P.A. 01-186 changed “shall” appoint to “may” appoint a judge trail referee, deleted definition of trial referee for purposes of section, and made technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality (Revisor's note: In merging the gender-neutral technical changes contained in public acts 01-75 and 01-186, the Revisors gave precedence to the changes contained in public act 01-75); P.A. 02-132 added provisions re review by court, replaced provision re mandatory viewing of land with provision re discretionary viewing of land and made technical and conforming changes. On appeal under section, no question of validity of assessment can be raised. 113 C. 660. Cited. 116 C. 124; 117 C. 139; 125 C. 417. Function of court goes no further than to determine amount due plaintiff. 127 C. 464; 129 C. 117. Cited. Id., 250; 134 C. 228; 137 C. 300. When report of referee reassessing damages may be overturned; correct procedure for attacking findings contained in such report. 147 C. 685. Cited. 148 C. 731. Existence of sand and gravel on property should be considered as factor in damages insofar as it affects marked value of land. Id., 736. Cited. 149 C. 210. The referee should include the entire reasonable cost of moving plaintiff's equipment in determining the fair market value of the property taken. 150 C. 32. Cited. Id., 524; 152 C. 353, 354; 153 C. 292. Referee should consider market value of renewal options in determining value of leasehold. Id., 377. Cited. Id., 718. Where there was credible evidence by experts of value of plaintiff's property to support referee's conclusion, court did not err in overruling plaintiff's exceptions to report of referee. 155 C. 602. Motion to reopen hearing by referee to introduce further evidence denied where there was no showing by plaintiff that evidence to be offered could not have been produced at hearing. 156 C. 70. State's appraiser may be required by condemnee to testify to his expert opinion concerning value of condemned property. Id., 166. Cited. 163 C. 204. Where portion of parcel is taken and remainder of land is not taken, either by right of statutory authority or in a constitutional sense, owner has no direct cause of action against condemnor but is left to recover any severance damage under section. 169 C. 195. Condemnation proceeding is limited to reassessment of damages caused by taking. 172 C. 182. Cited. Id., 234. Time limit for appeal from assessment extended to 6 months from date of Superior Court judgment. 173 C. 220. Cited. 174 C. 323. Where appeal based on determination of damages, only referee(s) may not assess benefits. 176 C. 391. Court correctly considered cost to cure expenditures in determining the after value of remaining land after taking. 177 C. 432. Cited. 178 C. 710; 180 C. 11. Denial of access was a foreseeable, necessary, natural and proximate result of the taking and the property owner was entitled to compensation. Id., 355, 356, 360. Although under statute the Superior Court clerk is required, following a final judgment in a condemnation proceeding, to send to the State Comptroller certified copies of both the assessment and the judgment, clerk's failure to send copy of assessment did not impair plaintiff's right to pursue its mandamus actions. 187 C. 171. Cited. 192 C. 377; 203 C. 364; 209 C. 480; 211 C. 173; Id., 382; 214 C. 225; 215 C. 437; 236 C. 710. 6-month limitation period for filing an application for reassessment is not subject matter jurisdictional but is analogous to a statute of limitations, requiring Commissioner of Transportation to raise in a timely manner property owner's failure to comply with such provision with failure to do so constituting a waiver of the defense; since commissioner failed to raise issue of property owner's failure to file her reassessment applications in a timely manner, commissioner's claim of untimely filing was waived; trial court has burden of “causing notice” of property owner's application for reassessment to be given commissioner; property owner was not required to initiate and serve notice of her application on commissioner, and there is no language in statute to support commissioner's construction allocating burden to property owner to initiate and serve notice on commissioner. 262 C. 257. Because appeal under section is a trial de novo, motion for summary judgment available. 11 CA 439. Cited. 35 CA 9; 36 CA 49. Trial court's failure to award appraisal fees was clearly erroneous because it was presented with facts and evidence from which it could have determined a reasonable appraisal fee in the exercise of its discretion. 109 CA 16. There is no statutory authority for awarding a prevailing party title search fees as costs against state in a condemnation action taken pursuant to section; reassessment of damages under section did not affect title to defendant's properties because proceeding did not have influence on or bring about a change in ownership of properties. 121 CA 13. Issue of reimbursement expenses for business relocation falls under purview of Secs. 8-268 and 8-278, is outside scope of compensation for the taking of real property and is not an essential term of settlement agreement pursuant to this section. 189 CA 828. Cited. 4 CS 474; 6 CS 335. An injunction will not lie in condemnation if there is an adequate remedy at law. Id., 393. Does not determine relative rights of interested persons who claim reverter interests. 9 CS 497. Section affords no review of validity of the condemnation. 11 CS 39. If all means of access to property are taken, measure of damages is value of the property. 14 CS 138. Cited. 17 CS 47. Court in awarding appraisal fees is not bound by Sec. 52-257; elements to be considered by court in determining what is a reasonable appraisal fee. 21 CS 343. Cited. 24 CS 391. Appeal from a condemnation proceeding is limited in scope to a reassessment of damages. 27 CS 23. Cited. Id., 287. Referee directed to file a report when case had been heard before enactment of Sec. 51-50f. Id., 494. State referee's report rejected and matter referred to another referee when the conclusion that the building on the condemned property was of no value was not sustained by the findings of fact. 28 CS 68. Cited. 34 CS 194, 195. Statutory condition subsequent for an appeal to be taken in a condemnation proceeding under section discussed; court lacks jurisdiction to hear appeal by owner for reassessment of damages under section where commissioner was not served with notice of the appeal and return of service ordered by the court was never filed. 46 CS 623.