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Arkansas State Highway Comm'n v. Johnson
Citations: 247 Ark. 911; 448 S.W.2d 36; 1969 Ark. LEXIS 1200Docket: 5-5075
Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas; December 22, 1969; Arkansas; State Supreme Court
The Arkansas State Highway Commission appeals a judgment awarding $45,300 for the taking of 24.09 acres from the property of Mary Raines Johnson and the heirs of the D. H. Raines Estate, initially condemned for interstate highway construction in Hempstead County. The taking was expanded from 11.06 acres to accommodate rest areas. At the time of the taking, the entire 334 acres was under a timber contract, and the Commission compensated the timber contractor for uncut timber. The Commission contends that the valuation provided by Dorsey McRae, the appellees’ only witness, should be disregarded due to erroneous assumptions. They argue that McRae’s valuation incorrectly assumed timber had not been removed and that he mischaracterized Tract 2 as landlocked due to severed access. However, the court found that McRae consistently based his valuations on the premise that all timber eight inches and above had been removed, and his statement regarding the land not being fully cut over was not an indication of valuing it with timber intact. Regarding access to Tract 2, the Commission argued McRae's assessment of a $2,000 loss due to access loss was invalid since he did not review the Commission's plans, suggesting that access could still be available through the fenced area. The court rejected this argument, referencing a previous ruling that clarified the impact of a fee simple taking on access rights. The court concluded that McRae’s testimony provided sufficient evidence to uphold the jury's verdict. The court affirmed the judgment, confirming that the evidence presented was adequate to support the award.