County of Erie v. St. Matthew's United Church of Christ

— Judgment unanimously modified, on the law and facts, and, as modified, affirmed, without costs, in accordance with the following memorandum: Plaintiff appeals from a judgment of condemnation that awarded $62,747.49 to defendant for a taking of approximately one acre of cemetery land for use as a sewer easement. The trial court erred in using the income method of valuation based on a capitalization rate of 12%. By refusing to reduce the economic life of the cemetery, despite the actual reduction of its inventory of gravesites as a result of the taking, the court disregarded the holding in…