Petersen v. Port of Seattle

This direct appeal concerns an inverse condemnation action started in November 1974, against the Port of Seattle. The Petersens (plaintiifs/appellants) owned and resided upon property located about 2 miles south of Sea-Tac Airport since before the airport was opened. They seek to recover the diminished value of their property resulting from the operation of the airport by defendant/cross-appellant Port of Seattle.

It is pertinent to note that the Port's policy when acquiring property in the vicinity of the airport on a negotiated voluntary sale basis was to pay unimpacted value, i.e., the…