Before the Take, the 1.4 acre commercial site had excellent access off State Route 63 near Interstate 75
After the Take, ODOT eliminated all driveway access to the property from S.R. 63, leaving the parcel landlocked and unmarketable.
By Mike Boyer
mboyer@enquirer.com
MONROE – A jury has awarded the owners of 1.3 acres at the fast-growing Interstate 75-Ohio 63 intersection $900,000 for their property in an eminent domain case growing out of the Ohio 63 widening project.
The Warren County Common Pleas Court jury award last week was about 50 percent more than the state’s appraisers valued the vacant store site across Ohio 63 from the Waffle House Restaurant.
“The significance of this case is that it demonstrates the exploding growth along the I-75 corridor,” said Richard Glazer, Montgomery-based eminent domain lawyer who represented the property owners James and Kimberly
Dinus of Naples, Fla.
The state and City of Monroe are jointly acquiring property along Ohio 63 for the widening project from Trader’s World east of I-75 to Union Road west of I-75. Most of the property owners have reached agreement or are in negotiations on the value of their property. The Dinus case is the first to go to trial.
When it filed its eminent domain lawsuit in 2007, the state offered $335,510 for a partial taking of the Dinus property that eliminated access to Ohio 63.
Glazer argued that the partial taking by eliminating access to the property made it useless. During the three-day trial last week, the state’s appraisers valued the site at $602,000 and $651,200, respectively. The Dinus appraiser valued the site at $1,023,399.
NOTE: Eminent Domain law is complex and changes frequently. Past case results do not indicate or guarantee future results.
Every case has unique facts and circumstances and must be considered on its own merits.
You can also find more information
on the "Owner's Counsel" website
