North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
The owner of a Wake County mobile home park has settled a land condemnation case against the North Carolina Department of Transportation for $2.8 million, its attorney reports.
Stan Abrams of the North Carolina Eminent Domain Law Firm in Wilson represented plaintiff Blue Skies Mobile Home Living in the suit, which alleged that because of the Southern Wake Expressway Project, his client was denied an opportunity to use the property for more lucrative, high-end residential development.
The NCDOT encumbered the property in 1996 through the filing of a corridor protection map under the now-repealed Map Act, Abrams said, but it didn’t encumber nearby properties, which have since been developed for more valuable residential use.
In the condemnation action, the NCDOT took 9.4 acres and nearly half of the mobile home lots, which split the property and left the remaining lots in a less-than-desirable location, Abrams said.
“The taking by the DOT caused my client to lose 32 mobile home lots and one community well, and the remaining 43 mobile home lots will now be located next to the very busy 540 freeway.”
The NCDOT offered nothing for filing the corridor protection map, Abrams said, but offered $1,058,400 for the direct taking, a figure rejected by Blue Skies. The $2.8 million settlement was reached Dec. 3.
“The property owner was satisfied that DOT eventually recognized the impact the corridor map filing had on the property and also how the direct taking impacted the continued use of the remaining property for a mobile home park,” Abrams said.
Follow Heath Hamacher on Twitter @NCLWHamacher
SETTLEMENT REPORT – EMINENT DOMAIN
Amount: $2.8 million
Injuries alleged: Loss of 9.4 acres of land and 32 mobile home lots, development restrictions
Case name: Department of Transportation v. Blue Skies Mobile Home Living, LLC
Court: Wake County Superior Court
Case No. 20 CVS 10307
Date of settlement: Dec. 3
Most helpful expert: Paul Cuomo of Greenville (real estate appraiser)
Attorney for defendant: Stan Abrams of the North Carolina Eminent Domain Law Firm in Wilson
Attorney for plaintiff: North Carolina Department of Justice
