Commonwealth, Department of Highways v. Ramsey

GARDNER, Commissioner.

In this condemnation proceeding the jury awarded appellees $160,000 for the taking of 5.041 acres of land from a 94-acre tract, and $20,000 for a two-year temporary easement of 5.178 acres. The Department of Highways seeks reversal of the judgment on the ground of excessiveness of the verdict.

The record discloses that there was substantial evidence introduced to support the verdict. Witnesses for the landowners testified that the highest and best use of the land was commercial. Their estimates of the difference in the value of the land before and after the taking ranged…