Schrimsher Land Fund 1986-11, Ltd. v. Department of Transportation

I respectfully dissent. In my view, because the landowner .was denied the right to effectively cross-examine the State’s sole appraiser, a fair trial was denied and a new trial should be ordered.

The State’s appraiser testified, as did all the other experts, that the highest and best use of the property being taken was for commercial purposes. The State’s appraiser also agreed that comparable sales, if they are truly comparable, must be based on that same highest and best use as the property being condemned. He then relied on three comparable sales which he told the jury were indeed parcels…