The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled once again in favor of property owners today. This ruling gets property owners back on the road to getting paid for the inverse condemnation claims resulting from NCDOT’s use of the Map Act to freeze properties in the Forsyth County Northern Beltway, Wake County 540 Southern Loop, Cumberland County Outer Loop I-295, Cleveland County Shelby Bypass, and others. The appellate ruling has been reported in the Winston-Salem Journal NC Appeals Court orders DOT to pay deposits to Winston-Salem beltway landowners .
For the entire Court of Appeals opinion, go here: Beroth Oil Co. et al v. NCDOT
The Court of Appeals ruled that sovereign immunity was not a defense and that the trial judge was correct in making his order that DOT pay the property owners.
Regarding DOT’s appeal, the Court stated: “There is no more effective way to procrastinate the administration of justice than that of bringing cases to an appellate court piecemeal through the medium of successive appeals from intermediate orders.” Veazey v. Durham, 231 N.C. 357, 363, 57 S.E.2d 377, 382, reh’g denied, 232 N.C. 744, 59 S.E.2d 429 (1950).”
The Court continues: “When the State takes private property for a public use, it must pay just compensation. Sovereign immunity will not relieve it of this restriction on the use of its eminent domain power. Because both grounds given by NCDOT to justify our interlocutory review fail, we dismiss.” p.6 of the opinion.
The NCDOT received a stay on the Forsyth County trial judge’s order that the NCDOT 1) plat, 2) appraise, and 3) make deposit for the inverse condemnation takings related to Map Act cases. That stay has been lifted by the Court of Appeals.
Contact the attorneys at Hendrick Bryant who argued these cases before the NC Court of Appeals and NC Supreme Court on behalf of property owners – 336-723-7200
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