Utah Department of Transportation v. Carlson

Justice LEE,

opinion of the court:

' 1 This case presents the question whether the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has the authority to use the power of eminent domain to condemn private property in excess of that needed for a transportation project. The condemnation at issue involved a fifteen-acre parcel owned by Michael Carlson. UDOT condemned the whole parcel despite the fact that it needed only 1.2 acres for its planned project. In so doing, UDOT asserted an interest in avoiding litigation regarding Carlson's severance damages, citing Utah Code section 72-5-113 as the basis for…