State Tennessee v. Carl Brandon

Susano, J. This is a condemnation case. The State of Tennessee, on relation of the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation (State), appeals the Judgment of the trial court awarding the Appellees (Landowners) $85,000 as compensation for the taking of their property and incidental damage to their adjacent property that was not taken. The State appeals the trial court's exclusion of evidence that the soil of, and water on and under, the condemned property were contaminated with various petroleum constituent substances. It requests an offset for its remediation costs against the jury award or a new trial. Because we believe that evidence of such contamination and the cost of remedying it were relevant in determining the fair market value of the property in question, we reverse and remand this cause for a new trial on all issues.