Vegas gets $2.6 million in eminent domain case

Monday, Feb. 21, 2000 | 8:52 a.m.

A jury has ordered Clark County to pay a Las Vegas couple more than $2.6 million for property taken under eminent domain for construction of the Las Vegas Beltway.

Attorney James Leavitt said the jury gave the award to Lawrence and Janet Doull following a four-day trial.

According to Leavitt, the couple purchased a 9.5 acre piece of land in 1986, installing a 500-foot water well and planting 105 pine trees on the site.

In 1998, the county seized the property under eminent domain as part of completion of the $1.5 billion, 53-mile beltway encircling the city. The beltway is scheduled for completion in 2020.

A key argument in the case was that the county assessed the value at residential rates while the Doulls said it had commercial value. The county estimated the value at $650,000 while the plaintiffs valued it closer to $2.8 million. The Doulls filed suit because they felt the $650,000 was far below the value of the land.

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