State Highway Commission v. Nelson

John D. Nelson and the other named defendants appeal from a judgment awarding them $2,800 in a condemnation proceeding brought by the Plaintiff State Highway Commission.

The parties will be referred to as the Commission and the owners. The only question presented in this appeal is whether the trial court erred in giving this instruction:

“The burden of proving the highest and best use of the land and that just compensation is any sum in excess of $2,000 is in this case upon the defendants. It must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence as defined to you.”

The figure of $2,000 appeared in…