In re State

After the State sought to condemn a tract of land, the owners subdivided the property into eight separate parcels. The trial court then severed the case into eight different proceedings. The State contends that the severance was improper, and it seeks a writ of mandamus requiring the trial court to vacate the order. Because the severance would require eight trials where only one is appropriate, and because it would preclude the State from presenting relevant valuation evidence, we conditionally grant the writ.

I. Background

The State of Texas filed a petition to condemn a tract of land and a…