The docket is pretty crowded today, so we don't have that much time to digest and summarize the Nebraska Supreme Court's opinion in Douglas County School Dist. No. 10 v. Tribedo, LLC, No. S-19-986 (Nov. 6, 2020). But we recommend you read it (or at least scan it).
Short story: Tribedo got the better of the School District at an eminent domain valuation trial on a partial taking. Although Tribedo's appraiser opined to a higher figure, the jury was closer to his number than the District's expert's. So the District appealed, arguing the trial court wrongly rejected the District's jury instruction, and that the jury's verdict -- which included severance damages -- was not supported by the evidence because neither party's expert specifically opined about severance damages.
As we know, both of these are hard hills to climb. And sure enough, the Supreme Court rejected both arguments. First, it concluded that the trial court's rejection of the condemnor's proposed jury instruction (on cost to cure), although a correct statement of law, did not result in any prejudice because the instruction actually given was, in substance, close enough to the proposed instruction. Slip op. at 729. Second, the court held that as long as the jury verdict is between the parties' appraisers, there is evidence to support the verdict. The jury isn't bound by the appraisers, and "[w]e will not speculate as to how the jury reached the amount of its award." Slip op. at 730.
Finally, the court confirmed the property owner's attorneys' fee award, and also concluded that the owner's appraisers did not offer an invalid opinion when they itemized damages to the remainder property, even though they "detailed numerous elements that influenced their valuations." Slip op. at 728. The opinions were in the ballpark and didn't need to lay these out specifically, and the jury was free to regard (or disregard) the experts' opinions. The jury regard it, and that was enough for the supreme court.
Douglas County School Dist. No. 10 v. Tribedo, LLC, No. S-19-986 (Neb. Nov. 6, 2020)
