State Highway & Transportation Commissioner v. Goodrich

The dispositive question in this highway condemnation appeal is whether the condemnor, who filed a certificate of deposit before instituting condemnation proceedings, had the right to amend the certificate during trial in order to reduce the area of land taken.

Cephus E. Goodrich and Elanor H. Goodrich, his wife (the owners), owned a tract of land in Sussex County containing approximately 65 acres. A secondary highway known as Route 620 ran through the tract for a distance of approximately 3,200 feet. The record is unclear concerning the ownership of the fee underlying the highway — one deed…