1976

State Highway Comm’r v. Carter

Supreme Court of Virginia

216 Va. 639, 222 S.E.2d 776

Commissioner filed petition to obtain 0.95 acre of landowners’ 4.55 acres. At trial, landowners’ expert testified that the value of the land taken was $4,512, and the damage to the residue was $2,390. Commissioners awarded $7,000 for the land taken and $4,000 for the damage to the residue. Commissioner moved to set aside the award as it was excessive, bore no reasonable relationship to the evidence and the actions of the commissioners were arbitrary and capricious. Trial court entered judgment on the award. Supreme Court affirmed. Report of the commissioners is entitled to great weight and is prima facie correct. Unless the commissioners proceeded on erroneous principles or the award was so grossly excessive as to show prejudice or corruption by them, the award will not be set aside. This is so because the commissioners may base their finding largely on the facts obtained by the view, which do not appear in the record. The record does not disclose that they impermissibly based their findings solely on the view.

Dissent by Justice Carrico stating it was obvious that the commissioners’ award was unrelated to the evidence.

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