# West Virginia Dept. of Transportation v. Margaret Z. Newton

> West Virginia Supreme Court · May 13, 2015 · 235 W. Va. 267

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9807306

## Case

- **Full name:** WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS and Paul A. Mattox, Jr., Secretary/Commissioner of Highways, Petitioners Below, Petitioners v. Margaret Z. NEWTON, Respondent Below, Respondent
- **Court:** West Virginia Supreme Court
- **Decided:** May 13, 2015
- **Citations:** 235 W. Va. 267; 773 S.E.2d 371; 2015 W. Va. LEXIS 613
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Ketchum
- **Judges:** Davis, Ketchum
- **Nature of suit:** Tort, Contract, and Real Property
- **Cited by:** 11 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9807306

## Opinion text

Justice Ketchum,
concurring:
I am writing to .point out to lawyers handling eminent domain cases that there is an exception to the rule that property is valued as of the- date of taking. When there is a decrease in the value of the condemned property prior to- the date of taking which is caused by the public improvement project, the decreases, in some instances, may be disregarded in determining just compensation.
In Huntington Urban Renewal Authority v. Commercial Adjunct Co., 161 W.Va. 360 , 242 S.E.2d 562 (1978) we held:
Any decrease, not of a general character, in the fair market value of real property prior to the date of valuation, caused by the public improvement for which such property is acquired, or by the likelihood that the property will be acquired for such improvement, other than that due to physical deterioration within the reasonable control of the owner, would be disregarded in any determination of the just compensation to be awarded the property owner for the property.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9807306. Public record. Not legal advice.