By Nate Delesline III
nate.delesline@insidebiz.com
A ruling on eminent domain by the Virginia Supreme Court means that the state government will no longer be able to make residential and business property owners offers they can't refuse.
The state Supreme Court April 16 reversed a Virginia Beach Circuit Court ruling at a 2014 trial. The lower court had sided with the Virginia Department of Transportation in a dispute over property the state highway agency took through eminent domain in 2009 for a road project.
"The fact that the Supreme Court wanted to hear this case - that let me know they knew there was a problem that needed to be addressed," said James Ramsey, who along with his wife, Janet, fought VDOT's legal pursuit of a .387-acre portion of their property on London Bridge Road in Virginia Beach.
That problem, according to the Ramseys and their attorney, Jeremy Hopkins, is that the jury that heard their case was not allowed to know that VDOT issued a second, lower fair-market value appraisal for $90,000 when they disputed what they were offered.
At the trial last year, the jury was prohibited from knowing about an earlier assessment that valued the property at $248,000. VDOT demanded the couple pay back the difference, which was about $160,000.
The state, Hopkins said, has "used this tactic to operate in the shadows for years. "This [court] opinion puts sunlight on this practice. It gives owners an even playing field in the courtroom."
Ironically, Hopkins said, if the Ramseys had made a statement about value, it would be admissible against them in court. "But when the government made a similar admission about the value of property, the owner couldn't show that to the jury. So the jury was being asked to carry out justice, but yet being prevented from hearing the facts."
James and Janet Ramsey have resided in the house for more than four decades. VDOT sought the land for an Interstate 264 project. "The off ramp was almost right up against our bedroom windows," said Janet Ramsey, who added they didn't consider moving to spare themselves the aggravation of fighting the state.
"It was my grandparents' home," she continued. "It meant everything to Jimmy and I." She said the state's actions left her in disbelief. "We never thought we'd get this far. We thought that we would go into Virginia Beach court and come out and it would be over."
The Supreme Court ruling returns the case to Circuit Court where the additional evidence may be presented at a new trial.