Mississippi State Highway Comm. v. Burwell

This is a proceeding by which the Mississippi Highway Commission seeks, by condemnation, to obtain title to 27.9 acres of land for use as a public highway. The jury returned a verdict in the sum of $5,000.00 The only question involved is whether the verdict is manifestly excessive.

The land condemned is a part of a tract of 100 acres. Four witnesses testified for the condemnor, other than its engineer. The four were entirely disinterested. In fact three of them were real estate men of long experience and a low value might be considered against their interests. The four estimated the damage to…