$1.5 Million Condemnation Settlement

In January of 2019, B.Joan Davis and Douglas Noreen of Howard Stallings in Raleigh settled a condemnation case for $1.5 million that involved a partial taking of a fast food restaurant’s parking lot in Forsyth Country.

The NCDOT had appraised the taking at $351,300; however, the attorneys argued that this appraisal did not appropriately take into account the client’s estimated damages to remainder (due to loss of signage, impaired access and compromised drive-thru lanes), nor damages related to the client’s pending Map Act claims that dated back to 1997.

Davis and Noreen used a combination of historical data, including the country’s assessed tax value, as well as current expert appraisals, to value the property rights that were acquired. They also employed public investment portfolio performance data to establish a prudent investor rate of return. The attorneys report that they worked together with the NCDOT to achieve an amicable resolution that appropriately compensated the landowner and allowed the highway project to proceed on course.