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Williams v. City Baton Rouge4/30/1998
smaller approximately five-acre tract would have to join with another, adjacent tract of approximately equal area. By awarding the Williams family plaintiffs $74,000.00, the trial court must have rejected the before/after method of valuation based on subdivision of the Williams tract, which was not clearly wrong.
In its determination of the amount of property damage to the Williams tract, the trial court apparently combined the fair market value of the land upon which the ditches are located and added to that a sum representing the costs of constructing bridges for vehicular and pedestrian use across each ditch. The latter amount, referred to as the "cost to cure," permitted restoration of the contiguous nature the Williams tract had prior to the damage by the City/Parish. This additional amount, the cost to cure, would be considered an award of severance damages if the City/Parish had invoked an expropriation proceeding or had there been an inverse condemnation.
Defendants urge the Williams family plaintiffs are entitled to recover only $44,160.00, the fair market value of the land damaged, essentially asserting that plaintiffs are not entitled to the additional $29,840.00 the trial court awarded entitled "cost to cure." Mindful of the supreme court's directive in Roman Catholic Church, that a tortfeasor who has damaged the property of another should be liable for compensation at least as extensive as when property is damaged for a public purpose, we find no error in the trial court's approach to valuation of the subject property under the facts of this case. To hold otherwise would have the reprehensible effect of allowing the tortfeasor City/Parish to pay an amount less than the amount the City/Parish would have had to compensate the Williams had it duly exercised its power of eminent domain.
Mr. Boudreaux testified the cost of constructing bridges across the three ditches DPW excavated on the Williams family property was $29,840.00. We find the trial court's award of $29,840.00 for the damage to the remainder of their tract based on cost to cure is supported by the evidence and is not erroneous under the facts of this case.
The Williams family plaintiffs, like the Gages, rely on Day to urge recovery of the fair market value of the entirety of their property. Like the Gage family, the Williams family's reliance is misplaced because they have failed to demonstrate that the property was rendered useless by the presence of the ditches.
For these reasons, we find no error in the trial court's award of property damages in the amount of $74,000.00 to the Williams family.
c. Raby family
The trial court awarded to Mr. and Mrs. John B. Raby, in community, the amount of $80,000.00 for property damage to their tract of land. Based on the evidence, the trial court must have determined the Rabys were entitled to $10,037.00 for the fair market value of the land upon which the ditches were constructed, $40,000.00 for the difference before and after the damage to the remainder of the tract, and $30,500.00 for the cost to add a bridge as part of the subdivision plan. Apparently, in making its award, the trial court rounded the sum to $80,000.00.
Defendants contend they are liable only for the fair market value of the property actually damaged in the amount of $10,037.00. They suggest the $80,000.00 award for property damage includes the before/after value to the remainder of the tract, as well as a sum to construct a bridge, and amounts to the Rabys recovering twice for the damage to the remainder of their tract. The Rabys urge that the trial court erred in rounding off the amount awarded and request a $537.00 adjustment in
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