Owens v. Orange County

Paul D. Owens, Cynthia R. Owens and Paul D. Owens d/b/a Gem Supply Company [collectively “the Owens”] appeal a final order denying their motion to tax fees for their business damage expert in a condemnation case. The lower court denied the claim on the ground that it had been abandoned. Because we find no abandonment under the facts of this case, we reverse.

The condemnation proceeding was brought by Orange County [“the County”] in 1995 as part of a project to widen Old Winter Garden Road. Included in the County’s declaration of taking was a thirty-foot strip, which ran through portions of a…