Department of Public Works & Buildings v. Lotta

This is an action to condemn land in Stephenson County to widen a public highway. The defendants, owners of the land affected, have appealed directly to this court from the judgment fixing their compensation.

The defendants owned two tracts of land, described in the record as the dance hall property and the tavern property. A portion of each tract was taken, and the jury separately determined as to each tract, the value of the land taken and the damage to the remainder. The alleged error upon which defendants chiefly rely relates to only one of these four determinations.

The defendants produced…