Department of Transportation v. Humphries

ORR, Justice.

This case arises out of a condemnation action instituted by plaintiff, North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT), against defendants Charles and Loretta Humphries on 8 May 1995 as part of DOT’S project to widen North Carolina Highway 150. DOT is claiming an existing right-of-way, seventy-five feet from the centerline of the highway, pursuant to an unrecorded right-of-way agreement.

Although defendants own three tracts of land along Highway 150, the only portion of defendants’ property at issue in the present case is tract 2. Defendants purchased tract 2 on 22 July 1969 and…