Man Awarded $1.2 Million in
Condemnation
The Missourian by Bill Miller Jr., Missourian Staff Writer, Dec 27, 2011
In what
may be the largest eminent domain verdict in county history, a Franklin County
jury last week awarded a Washington
man $1.2 million in connection with the taking of his property for the Highway
100 widening project.
The jury
deliberated approximately 50 minutes in the case of State of Missouri, ex rel. Missouri Highway
and Transportation Commission vs. James C. Krafft,
trustee, et al., before rendering the verdict in connection with the
condemnation of an approximate 29-acre tract of land on the north side of
Highway 100, east of the Route 100/East Fifth Street intersection.
The case was tried over two days, Tuesday and Wednesday of
last week, before Associate Circuit Judge Dave Hoven.
The verdict was $937,500 higher than the $262,500 the state paid to the court
in 2008 after that amount was set by a panel of appointed commissioners.
Both parties filed exceptions to that award which led to the
trial last week. The case involved testimony on the value of the land that was
impacted in the case.
Washington Attorney Steve Kuenzel,
who represented the property owner, said the damages encompassed the actual
taking of about 2.6 acres, the economic loss to the remaining 26 acres in the
parcel, an area taken for a temporary construction site during the construction
of the highway project and the economic damages associated with the loss of a
billboard on the property.
“The actual taking for the widening of Highway 100 was only
2.6 acres,” Kuenzel explained, “but in a condemnation
case the jury has to look at the damage done to the entire parcel.”
Philip E. Morgan Jr., who represented the Highway Department
in the case, said it was unlikely that the state would appeal the verdict. He
declined further comment on the case. Kuenzel said
that one of the main points of contention in the case was over how a proposed
second entrance or connecting entrance to the property would be impacted by the
condemnation which was essential to developing the site as a shopping center.
“Our position was that in today’s world, all retailers want
two entrances to their site for fire and safety reasons and so if there is an
accident, and one of the entrances is blocked, the shopping center isn’t shut
down for business. The state took the position that the placement of the
connecting road where we had it was not practical according to its engineers,” Kuenzel explained Friday.
Kuenzel said that the state could have designed the
highway widening project differently to avoid last week’s verdict.
“In my opinion MoDOT had an
opportunity to work with Jim Krafft to preserve the
most valuable use of his property which would have included the connecting
entrance and they made a conscious decision not to work with him,” Kuenzel added.
According to Kuenzel, the jury
heard expert testimony from the state that the damage to the property was
$254,000. He said that his expert testified that the damages amounted to
$945,000.
Kuenzel said that Jim Krafft
also testified in the case. He valued the economic loss to his property at
$1,745,000.
Kuenzel tried the case with the assistance of Colleen
Kuenzel of his law firm.