Lea Co. v. North Carolina Board of Transportation

MITCHELL, Justice.

This appeal involves an action brought by the plaintiff Lea Company under N.C.G.S. § 136-111 for inverse condemnation. The primary issue raised before this Court involves the constitutionality of the statutory interest rate as applied to the facts of this case. The trial court held that it would be unconstitutional to apply the statutory rate of 8% per annum in calculating the additional compensation owed the plaintiff by reason of the defendant’s delay in payment from the date of the taking to the date of judgment awarding compensation. We agree.

The plaintiff alleged that…