W. Va. Dept. of Transportation, Div. of Highways v. CDS Family Trust, LLC

The trial judge did a yeoman's job handling this novel and complex condemnation case.1 Despite the trial judge's Herculean efforts, I believe that the opinions of the landowner's experts were speculative and misleading. The trial judge should have found that their testimony was inadmissible.

*791The trial in this case devolved into a debate about the value of "wetlands mitigation credits." It should have been about the fair market value of the condemned land, that is, what an informed, willing buyer would pay an informed, willing seller for land on the open market. I write separately to emphasize…