West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways v. Western Pocahontas Properties, L.P.

Justice KETCHUM:

It is a well-established rule in the law of eminent domain that a jury may not award just compensation for the lost profits of a business on land taken by condemnation.1 However, in this appeal of a jury’s $24 million verdict in a condemnation case, a litigant testified and valued his interest in a tract of condemned land using.only the future lost profits of his business. Despite this evidence, the' Cireuit Court of Tucker County refused to instruct the jury to disregard lost *58business profits when calculating just compensation.

As set forth below, we reverse the circuit…