Douglas Cty. Sch. Dist. No. 10 v. Tribedo, LLC
950 N.W.2d 599
Neb.2020Background
- Douglas County School District No. 10 (Elkhorn) condemned 43.36 acres of a 73.99-acre tract owned by Tribedo, LLC for a high school site; the board of appraisers awarded $2,601,600.
- Tribedo appealed claiming the award undervalued the taken land and failed to compensate severance damages to the remaining 30.63 acres (highest-and-best-use commercial/mixed‑use development).
- Competing appraisals: Tribedo’s experts valued total compensation at $5.89M and $7.022M; Elkhorn’s appraiser valued total compensation at $2.6016M.
- The trial court allowed testimony about site-specific costs (e.g., grading/imported fill, changed functionality) as factors affecting diminished market value of the remainder.
- A jury awarded Tribedo $4,625,967 (breakdown: $3,295,967 for taken land; $1,330,000 for diminution of remainder). District court denied Elkhorn’s posttrial motions and awarded Tribedo prejudgment interest and $590,924.89 in attorney fees.
- Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed: admissibility of appraisers’ testimony, jury instructions, sufficiency of the award, denial of a new trial, and the attorney fee award.
Issues
| Issue | Elkhorn’s Argument | Tribedo’s Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admissibility of appraisers’ itemized costs (grading, imported fill, etc.) as evidence of severance damages | Appraisers impermissibly added "itemized" costs that are consequential and not proper measures of market-value diminution | Those costs were properly used as factors that influence fair market value of the remainder (not mere add-ons) | Court: admission was within discretion; such items may be considered to the extent they affect market value |
| Jury instruction limiting consideration of "costs to cure" to instances where they impact fair market value | Proposed instruction to explicitly restrict jurors to consider costs to cure only if they affect diminution of fair market value | Existing instructions already defined fair market value and just compensation and permitted consideration of uses/costs affecting value | Court: refusal to give proffered instruction was not prejudicial; instructions as given adequately stated law |
| Sufficiency/excessiveness of severance and total damages award | Verdict awarded severance damages unsupported by any expert in the precise amount; jury’s award is excessive | Expert testimony provided ranges and factors; jury may weigh conflicting appraisals and is not bound by any single expert | Court: award fell within range of conflicting testimony and was supported by competent evidence; will not disturb jury verdict |
| Attorney fee award amount (reasonableness) | Amount requested/unawarded detailed billing was insufficient; fee excessive | Statute authorizes fees; district court reviewed affidavits and factors supporting reasonableness (complexity, results, time) | Court: trial court did not abuse discretion in awarding $590,924.89 in fees |
Key Cases Cited
- Walker v. BNSF Railway Co., 306 Neb. 559 (Neb. 2020) (trial court has discretion over relevancy and admissibility of evidence)
- Hike v. State, 288 Neb. 60 (Neb. 2014) (standard for reversible error when a requested jury instruction is denied)
- Armbruster v. Stanton‑Pilger Drainage Dist., 169 Neb. 594 (Neb. 1960) (measure of condemnation damages: value of land taken plus difference in fair market value of remainder before and after taking)
- Patrick v. City of Bellevue, 164 Neb. 196 (Neb. 1957) (Neb. Const. allows consequential damages as part of just compensation)
- ACI Worldwide Corp. v. Baldwin Hackett & Meeks, 296 Neb. 818 (Neb. 2017) (abuse‑of‑discretion review for attorney fee awards and factors to consider in reasonableness)
- Patterson v. City of Lincoln, 250 Neb. 382 (Neb. 1996) (jury determination of damages in condemnation ordinarily upheld absent clear error)
- Chadron Energy Corp. v. First Nat. Bank, 236 Neb. 173 (Neb. 1990) (expert testimony is not binding on trier of fact)
- Sorenson v. Lower Niobrara Nat. Resources Dist., 221 Neb. 180 (Neb. 1985) (severance damages include all factors and inconveniences that would influence a purchaser)