As noted in a prior blog post, Morphew Law Office obtained a successful jury trial verdict in a Minneapolis eminent domain trial on behalf of its client as a result of the forced taking of her property by Hennepin County. At the conclusion of the trial the jury returned a verdict that was 70% higher than the amount initially offered by the County at the beginning of the case. Following the decision by the jury, the County elected to appeal that verdict to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

As part of its appeal, despite failing on four prior occasions, the County argued for a fifth time that the district court made an error of law allowing the property owner to submit evidence of the damages she suffered as a result of the construction-related interference she suffered during the project. This construction-related interference included the noise, dust, vibration and ongoing disruptions of her use of her property during the road construction. During the appeal process, Morphew Law Office argued that long-established legal precedent in Minnesota allows a property owner to introduce this type of evidence to the jury in order to determine the amount of just compensation they are entitled to receive under the United States Constitution.

In its decision, the Court of Appeals affirmed the jury’s verdict. The Court of Appeals also concluded that even if the district court should not have allowed the evidence of construction-related interference to be submitted to the jury, the County was unable to meet its burden to prove that this evidence impacted the jury’s verdict.

It remains to be seen whether the County will attempt to appeal this case further to the Minnesota Supreme Court. However, even if it does, because the Court of Appeals decided the case based upon the County’s failure to meet its burden of proof, it is doubtful the Supreme Court will take the case.

Property owners faced with the forced taking of their property need an attorney experienced in this type of litigation. Many attorneys that do not work regularly in the area of eminent domain law do not have this experience and may be afraid to take these cases to trial or to the appellate courts. This may result in their clients receiving less than what they are entitled to receive for the forced taking of their property. An experienced eminent domain lawyer can make sure you receive just compensation for the forced taking of your property and make sure your interests are protected. If you are facing the taking of your property by the government for a public project contact eminent domain attorney Jon Morphew at Morphew Law today.