State ex rel. Department of Highways v. Willis

DOMENGEAUX, Judge.

Plaintiff, the State of Louisiana, through its Department of Highways, expropriated a strip of defendant’s land which ran along the front of a shopping center for a distance of some 490 feet to a depth of approximately 5 feet, under the provisions of the quick-taking statute, LSA R.S. 48:441-48:460. The purpose of the expropriation was to widen Louisiana U.S. Highway 167 through the City of Opelou-sas, Louisiana.

Defendants were awarded damages for the taking in excess of the deposit previously made by plaintiff, and plaintiff appealed the judgment to this court. Subsequently…