Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. v. Gordon

I concur with my brethren except for that part of the decision denying recovery for attorney’s fees and costs.

The attorney’s fees and cost provisions in the eminent domain statute, when read literally, create an obvious inequity by distinguishing voluntary dismissals from involuntary judicial dismissals. Obviously, both dismissals are necessitated by the con-demnor’s conduct and the result is often the same: the condemnee incurs monetary damages in the form of costs and attorney’s fees. This statutory anomaly, buttressed by the majority’s opinion, serves to thwart the spirit and purpose of…