1. Westland Development Company, Inc., (Westland) appeals a district court judgment awarding it $75,000 as compensation for a taking by the City of Albuquerque (City) of 22.788 acres out of a 14,977.21 acre parcel owned by Westland. The parcel is on the west side of Albuquerque south of Interstate 40 near the Paseo del Volcan exit to Interstate 40. The portion taken was a 60-foob-wide right of way for an access road leading from the frontage road on the south side of Interstate 40 to the Cerro Colorado Landfill, which adjoins the southern portion of the western border of Westland’s parcel. The frontage road and landfill were already City-owned property. To prepare for the operation'of the landfill, the City not only built the access road through Westland’s parcel but also upgraded the frontage road on the northern boundary of the parcel from a gravel road to a two-lane asphalt highway. During normal operation of the landfill a steady flow of garbage trucks passes along the
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2. The trial judge instructed the jury that Westland was entitled to damages for the value of the right of way taken from West-land and for any reduction in the value of the remainder of Westland’s parcel “resulting from the use by vehicles of the Cerro Colorado Landfill in traversing the road constructed on the condemned property.” Westland’s principal contention on appeal is that the trial judge improperly limited the damages that it could recover for the reduction in value of the uncondemned portion of its parcel. According to Westland, not only should it be entitled to the reduction in value of the uncondemned portion arising from the use of the access road, but also it should be entitled to any reduction in value caused by the proximity of the landfill and the increased use of the frontage road. Westland argues that the opening of the landfill, the building of the access road, and the upgrading of the frontage road are all part of one project, the Cerro Colorado Landfill project (the Project), and it is entitled to compensation for the reduction in the value of its uneondemned land caused by the entire Project, not just for damages caused by use of the access road. In addition, Westland argues that the following errors require reversal of the judgment: (1) the trial judge violated the pretrial order in allowing the City to introduce certain evidence, (2) the trial judge misled West-land into limiting the testimony it presented, (3) the trial judge denied Westland due process of law by not allowing two Westland directors the right to attend the entire trial, (4) the trial judge improperly refused to permit a member of the Westland board to testify regarding damages, (5) the trial judge improperly refused to permit Westland to introduce impeachment evidence on cross-examination of City witnesses, and (6) the trial judge improperly excluded photographs and denied a jury view. We affirm.
I. MEASURE OF DAMAGES FOR TAKING
3. The City commenced this case by filing a verified complaint for condemnation pursuant to the New Mexico Eminent Domain Code, NMSA 1978, § 42A-1-1 through -33 (Repl.Pamp.1994). Under the New Mexico Constitution, “Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use without just compensation.” N.M. Const, art. II, § 20. Section 42A-1-26 sets forth the measure of just compensation that should be awarded
In any condemnation proceeding in which there is a partial taking of property, the measure of compensation and damages resulting from the taking shall be the difference between the fair market value of the entire property immediately before the taking and the fair market value of the property remaining immediately after the taking. In determining such difference, all elements which would enhance or diminish the fair market value before and after the taking shall be considered even though some of the damages sustained by the remaining property, in themselves, might otherwise be deemed noncompensable. Further, in determining such values or differences therein, elements which would enhance or benefit any property not taken shall only be considered for the purpose of offsetting any damages or diminution of value to the property not taken.
Section 42A-1-26 simply codifies what is required to satisfy the constitutional command of “just compensation.” See State ex rel. State Highway Cormn’n v. Hesselden Inv. Co.,
4. The apparent simplicity of the statutory formula — “the difference between the fair market value of the entire property immediately before the taking and the fair market value of the property remaining immediately after the taking” — is deceptive. The “before and after” formulation of the rule establishes the temporal component of the calculation — the moment for which the calculation is to be made, see generally Bennett — but there is also a “causation” component. The necessity of the causation component becomes apparent when one considers how a purely temporal before-and-after calculation — one with only a temporal component — would work in practice. The result would likely be an award of little or no compensation for diminution of value of the uneondemned portion of the property. To establish the fair market value of the uncondemned portion immediately before the taking, one would estimate what price prospective purchasers would have offered at that time. But such hypothetical purchasers would necessarily take into account that a condemnation would occur soon (or immediately) after the purchase and that the value of the remaining property would be enhanced or diminished by the use to be made of the portion taken. Thus, the fair market value of the uncondemned portion would be essentially the same immediately before and immediately after the taking, because immediately before the taking the prospective purchaser would know with virtual certainty that a taking would be consummated. 1
5. What is missing from a purely temporal before-and-after rule is the recognition that just compensation requires payment for the diminution in property value caused by the taking. To compensate justly for the taking, the “before” value must be calculated as if no taking were to take place and the “after” value calculated as if the taking had already occurred. Then the calculation computes the diminution in value caused by the condemnation. Thus, “the difference between the fair market value of the entire property immediately before the taking and the fair market value of the property remaining immediately after the taking” is shorthand for “the difference between the fair market value of the entire property immediately before the taking (assuming that the prospective condemnation is not taken into consideration) and the fair market value of the property remaining immediately after the taking (taking the condemnation into consideration).”
7. New Mexico case law answers the questions in part. In City of Santa Fe v. Komis,
8. Komis, however, does not completely answer our questions. It did not address whether it is appropriate to take into account a reduction in value of the uncondemned portion caused by activities that do not occur on the condemned portion but result from the project of which the condemnation is a part. Thus, we look to authority elsewhere.
9. Examination of the case law from other jurisdictions is particularly appropriate in this context. There is no a priori formula to apply in determining what factors should be considered in awarding compensation for a taking of private property. As the very term “just compensation” suggests, the touchstone is justice, or fairness. To avoid reliance on our personal, perhaps idiosyncratic, notions of justice and fairness, we should test our views against the work of other courts that have confronted similar issues. Moreover, to the extent that just-compensation doctrine takes into account utilitarian considerations—such as the desirability of clear rules (to avoid devoting excessive time, energy, and money to resolution of disputes) and maintaining the morale of property owners (so that a fear of governmental expropriation does not discourage investment and development), see generally Frank I. Michelman, Property, Utility, and Fairness: Comments on the Ethical Foundations of “Just Compensation” Law, 80 Harv.L.Rev. 1165, 1208-18 (1967)—the practical insights and experience of other jurisdictions may be of great value.
10. Our research compels the conclusion that in this case damages from the proximity of the landfill and from increased traffic on the frontage road are not compensable. The leading ease on the subject is Campbell v. United States,
The rule supported by better reason and the weight of authority is that the just compensation assured by the Fifth Amendment to an owner, a part of whose land is taken for public use, does not include the diminution in value of the remainder caused by the acquisition and use of adjoining lands of others for the same undertaking.
Id. at 372,
The land taken from plaintiff was not shown to be indispensable to the construction of the nitrate plant or to the proposed use of the other lands acquired by the United States. The damages resulting to the remainder from the taking of a part were separable from those caused by the use to be made of the lands acquired from others. The proposed use of the lands taken from others did not constitute a taking of his property. Plaintiff had no right to prevent the taking and use of the lands of others; and the exertion by the United States of the power of eminent domain did not deprive him of any right in respect of such lands. And, if the land taken from plaintiff had belonged to another, or if it had not been deemed part and parcel of his estate, he would not have been entitled to anything on account of the diminution in value of his estate. It is only because of the taking of a part of his land that he became entitled to any damages resulting to the rest. In the absence of a taking, the provision of the Fifth Amendment giving just compensation does not apply; and there is no statute applicable in this case that enlarges the constitutional right. If the former private owners had devoted their lands to the identical uses for which they were acquired by the United States or to which they probably will be put, as found by the court, they would not have become liable for the resulting diminution in value of plaintiffs property. The liability of the United States is not greater than would be that of the private users.
Id. at 371-72,
11. Under the Campbell rule Westland is not entitled to compensation for any reduction in the value of the uncondemned portion of its parcel resulting from the increased use of the frontage road or the proximity of the landfill, because the frontage road and the landfill are not on land acquired from .Westland by condemnation. Moreover, the logic underlying the Campbell rule supports the denial of such compensation in this case. An owner’s property right to land does not encompass the right to control the use of land owned by others. Only in the exceptional case is a property owner entitled to damages or injunctive relief because of a reduction in the value of land caused by activity on a neighbor’s land. See Scott v. Jordan,
If the former private owners had devoted their lands to the identical uses for which they were acquired by the United States or to which they probably will be put, as found by the court, they would not have become liable for the resulting diminution in value of plaintiffs property. The liability of the United States is not greater than would be that of the private users.
12. Turning to the facts of this case, Westland does not contend in its brief in chief that even if no portion of its parcel had been condemned, it would still be entitled to compensation from the City for damages arising from the proximity of its land to the landfill or from the increased traffic on the frontage road. The failure to pursue this contention appears sound. The City already owned the Cerro Colorado Landfill. If it had acquired access to the site via a roadway on land not condemned from Westland, West-land would ordinarily have no claim for compensation, see Aguayo, even though any reduction in the value of Westland’s parcel caused by the proximity of the landfill would be the same regardless of the location of the access road. (As did the trial judge, we distinguish (1) damage due to proximity of the landfill from (2) damage due to traffic on the access road going to and from the landfill.) Westland has not suggested that operation of the landfill site in itself intrudes upon a property right of Westland.
13. Likewise, we have been given no reason to determine that the improvements to the frontage road and the increased traffic flow upon it injured Westland’s property rights. The City owned the frontage right of way. It could have improved the road at any time without compensating West-land. Any number of developments could have led to increased traffic flow along the road. The New Mexico Supreme Court has held that the owner of property abutting a public highway has no claim to compensation for changes in the highway so long as the changes do not deprive the owner of adequate access to public roads. E.g., State ex rel. State Highway Comm’n v. Silva,
14. Also, as in Campbell, there was no practical problem with distinguishing between damages caused by use of the condemned property and damages caused by use of property not condemned from the claimant. The trial judge had no apparent difficulty in admitting evidence of damages caused by traffic along the access road (which was on property actually taken from Westland) while excluding evidence of damages caused by traffic along the frontage road and by proximity to the landfill. Thus, the considerations that convinced the United States Supreme Court to deny the condemnee’s claim in Campbell also argue for rejection of Westland’s claim in this case.
15. We recognize that some courts have tempered what appears to be the strict rule of Campbell. For example, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, relying on portions of the above-quoted language from Campbell, has held that the strict rule of Campbell does not apply when
(1) the land taken from the condemnee landowner was indispensable to the ... project; (2) the land taken constituted a substantial (not inconsequential) part of the tract devoted to the project; and (3) the damages resulting to the land not taken from the use of the land taken were inseparable from those to the same land flowing from the condemnor government’s use of its adjoining land in the ... project.
16. Other courts have adopted a similar test that appears to be rationalized by essentially the same considerations. One leading ease states that “where the use of the land taken constitutes an integral and inseparable part of a single use to which the land taken and other adjoining land is put, the effect of the whole improvement is properly to be considered in estimating the depreciation in value of the remaining land.” Andrews v. Cox,
17. But these seemingly more generous standards provide little comfort for Westland. The additional generosity is quite limited. Westland’s claim clearly fails the third requirement of the three-part test stated in 15.65 Acres because, as discussed above, the damages from use of the condemned portion of the parcel were separable from those caused by use of the frontage road and by proximity of the landfill. The case we have found that is most closely in point factually to the present case rejected compensation on just that ground. In Griffith v. Montgomery County,
18. The rule adopted in Andrews also does not aid Westland. The requirement that there be an “integral and inseparable part of a single use” has not been applied expansively. In Andrews itself, for example, the loss in value of the landowner’s remaining property resulted from an embankment that obstructed the view from the property. The embankment was constructed as part of a highway project. The slope of the embankment began on the land condemned from the owner. The decision to award compensation was based on the fact that the portion of the embankment on the condemned land was “an integral and inseparable part of a single use” — the embankment — which reduced the market value of the remainder of the owner’s land.
19. Particularly illuminating is the opinion in City of Crookston, which adopted the Andrews test. City of Crookston,
20. In sum, the great (perhaps unanimous) weight of case authority and the rationale for such authority convinces us that the trial judge properly denied Westland compensation for any reduction in the value of the uncondemned portion of its parcel resulting from the proximity of the landfill and the increased traffic on the frontage road.
II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF PRETRIAL ORDER AND MISLEADING OF WESTLAND
21. The pretrial order entered in this ease prohibited the introduction at trial of evidence of damages to Westland’s “remaining property resulting from the creation, existence and operation of the Cerro Colorado Landfill on adjoining property.” West-land contends that the district court violated the pretrial order when it admitted testimony by the City’s appraiser “regarding development and land values around the Rio Rancho landfill in an effort to show that the existence of the Rio Rancho landfill does not negatively affect land values.” Westland’s characterization of the appraiser’s testimony is incorrect. The testimony related to the impact on property values of garbage truck traffic along roads leading to the Rio Rancho landfill, not the impact on property values of the proximity of the landfill. Admission of the evidence did not violate the pretrial order. The evidence was admissible to rebut claims by Westland regarding the diminution in value of its property arising from garbage-truck traffic along the access road through its parcel.
22. In a similar argument Westland contends that the trial judge misled it regarding what evidence would be admissible. It claims that the judge indicated that West-land could not introduce evidence regarding the impact of the landfill on property values but then permitted the City to introduce such evidence. Our review of the record reveals no such error. The trial judge consistently prohibited testimony by both parties regarding the impact on property values of proximity to a landfill. At the same time, however, the court consistently admitted evidence regarding the impact on property values of traffic going to and from landfills. The trial judge’s rulings were both consistent and proper.
III. EXCLUSION OF WESTLAND DIRECTORS FROM TRIAL
23. At the beginning of the trial the City requested the trial judge to exclude witnesses from the courtroom pursuant to SCRA 1986, 11-615 (Repl.1994). The purpose of the rule is to prevent witnesses from shaping their testimony to match that given by preceding witnesses. State v. Ortiz,
24. We disagree. Rule 11-615 states:
At the request of a party the court shall order witnesses excluded so that they cannot hear the testimony of other witnesses, and it may make the order of its own motion. This rule does not authorize exclusion of:
A. a party who is a natural person; or
B. an officer or employee of a party which is not a natural person designated as its representative by its attorney; or
C. a person whose presence is shown by a party to be essential to the presentation of the party’s cause.
Because Westland is not a natural person, the Rule permits only one client representative to be designated by Westland’s attorney. The court did not err in excluding Page and Saavedra. See Oliver B. Cannon & Son v. Fidelity & Casualty Co.,
IV. EXCLUSION OF TESTIMONY BY BOARD MEMBER REGARDING DAMAGES
25. Westland complains that the trial judge did not allow Carlos Saavedra to testify regarding the loss in value of Westland’s property resulting from the condemnation. It contends that the owner of condemned property is entitled to testify to the value of the property and that Saavedra, as a member of Westland’s board of directors, was an owner of the Westland parcel.
26. We agree that ordinarily an owner should be permitted to testify as to the value of property taken in condemnation. See State ex rel. State Highway Comm’n v. Chavez,
27. The trial judge was not required to permit every director, officer, or shareholder of Westland to testify on substantially the same matter. Relevant evidence may be excluded if it constitutes “needless presentation of cumulative evidence.” SCRA 1986, 11 — 403 (Repl.1994). We defer to the sound discretion of the trial judge in determining whether evidence should be excluded as cumulative. See State v. Lovato,
V. EXCLUSION OF EVIDENCE IN CROSS-EXAMINATION
28. Westland complains that the district court improperly hampered its cross-examination of the City’s witnesses. It raises several specific matters. We can dispose of each summarily.
29. First, Westland complains about the exclusion of several reports filed by the City with a state agency. The trial judge refused to admit them because they had not been disclosed in the pretrial order, see State ex rel. State Highway Dep’t. v. Branchau,
30. Second, Westland complains about the exclusion of certain photographs. The court examined a box of pictures offered by Westland and required Westland to pick the five best representatives of what it wanted to show; the others were excluded. Westland has failed to establish why the remaining photographs would not have been needlessly cumulative. See SCRA 11-403.
31. Third, Westland complains that it was not permitted to cross-examine Dr. Gene Romo using minutes of a meeting of the
32. Fourth, Westland contends that it was not permitted to cross-examine the manager of the Rio Rancho Landfill regarding violations by his company in the operation of landfills in New Mexico. At trial, after Westland’s attorney asked the witness whether his company had been cited by the state environmental department, the attorney explained to the court: “If the properties around the landfill are supposed to be so valuable, I think the relevance is that if the operation of the landfill is not appropriate, then it certainly tends to lower the value of the surrounding properties.” The trial judge ruled that the evidence was irrelevant. We agree because, as explained above, the impact of the operation of the landfill was not an appropriate element of damages.
33. Fifth, Westland contends that the trial judge did not allow it to introduce into evidence Travis Engelage’s deposition for the purpose of impeaching his testimony. The trial judge permitted Westland to cross-examine the witness from his deposition by reading questions and answers from the deposition. The trial judge, however, refused to admit the deposition itself into evidence because he did not think that the deposition testimony was inconsistent with the witness’s testimony at trial. SCRA 1986, 11-801(D)(1)(a) (Repl.1994) (prior inconsistent statement of trial witness is not hearsay). On appeal Westland has made no effort to show that Engelage’s deposition testimony was inconsistent with his trial testimony. We affirm the ruling of the district court.
34. Finally, Westland complains that it was not permitted to use various other documents to cross-examine the City’s witnesses. But because Westland fails to describe the contents of the documents or explain why they were appropriate for cross-examination, we need not address the contentions. The appellant has the burden to point out clearly and specifically the error it asserts on appeal. See Novak v. Dow,
VI. PHOTOGRAPHS AND JURY VIEW
35. Westland contends that the jury was unable to determine the true condition of the portion of Westland’s parcel that was not condemned because the trial judge refused to admit some of Westland’s tendered photographs and refused to permit a jury view of the property. We disagree. The trial exhibits contain sufficient diagrams and photographs that the judge could properly determine that additional photographs and a jury view were unnecessary to the jury’s full understanding of the matters at issue. See El Paso Elec. Co. v. Landers,
VII. CONCLUSION
36. For the above reasons, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
37. IT IS SO ORDERED.
Notes
. In this discussion we ignore the possibility that the pre-condemnation prospective purchaser would include in the valuation of the property the right to compensation from the government for diminution in the value of the remainder of the property. To take that possibility into account would be to introduce a circularity of reasoning, because the amount of compensation depends upon what a prospective buyer would pay-