Department of Transportation v. Ladson Investments

Banke, Judge.

The Department of Transportation condemned a strip of land owned by appellee Ladson Investments for use in widening an intersection at which Ladson owned a shopping center. The land was being used as part of the parking lot of the shopping center and lies directly north of a highway which runs east and west in front of the center. The department claimed in its petition that the width of the existing right-of-way of this highway was 70 feet, that is, 35 feet on either side of the centerline. The appellee moved to set aside the declaration of taking and also filed an inverse…