Wilson v. Iowa State Highway Commission

Plaintiffs own a seven and one-half or eight-acre tract of land in the east part of Des Moines. Defendant, Iowa State Highway Commission, condemned a narrow strip along one side of this land, amounting to a fraction of an acre. A condemnation commission assessed plaintiffs’ damages at $350. Plaintiffs appealed to district court and that jury assessed the damages at $14,000. The district court set aside that verdict and granted a new trial. From that order plaintiffs have appealed to this court.

Plaintiffs’ tract of land is roughly the shape of an arrowhead pointing northeast, and located at…