State Highway Commission v. Callahan

This action was- brought by the state to condemn part of defendants’ land for the construction of freeway Interstate 5. The property was adjacent to the old Pacific Highway near the Siskiyou Mountain summit in Jackson County and was improved with a residence and a lodge with cocktail lounge and bar. Interstate 5 is a limited access freeway and all access rights of defendants’ remaining property were being taken, leaving the balance landlocked and virtually valueless. Upon trial the jury returned a verdict of damage to the property owners in the sum of $67,500 and the state appealed.

The first…