Little v. Burleigh County

GRONNA, District Judge.

This is a trial de novo of an action by a landowner against a county upon “implied contract” under Sec. 14 of the North Dakota Constitution which provides that “private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use without just compensation having first been made to, or paid into court for the owner, * *

In 1950, at a purchase price of $399, plaintiff acquired title to a small parcel of pasture land (13.38 acres) through which a county highway had been constructed in 1914. The highway subdivided the parcel into two pieces (11.4 and 1.98 acres). A 6-foot culvert…