Court overturns $3.6 million land condemnation award

Monday, July 21, 2003 | 11:19 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court today overturned a judgment in which Clark County was ordered to pay $3.6 million for condemning two parcels of land in downtown Las Vegas to build a jail in 1995.

The court, in a split decision, said former District Judge James Mahan who is now a federal judge, used the wrong method in setting the value of the land held by Sun State Properties LTC and Clarence and Ruth Pyles.

Clark County maintained the court should have awarded $1.9 million.

Justice Bob Rose, who wrote the majority opinion, agreed with Clark County that the law requires the value of all of the property be determined first by the district judge, and then a hearing be set to divided the money.

Rose said Judge Mahan determined the value of each individual parcel, which resulted in a higher award.

Rose agreed with the property owners that they were entitled to lost profits if Clark County delayed in bringing the case to trial. But he said the owners must prove in district court at the new trial that it was the fault of Clark County that first trial was delayed.

Chief Justice Deborah Agosti, Justice Nancy Becker and Senior Judge Cliff Young, agreed that a new trial should be beheld to set the value again.

Justice Bill Maupin, in his dissent, said this was one of the rare cases where the method used by Judge Mahan could be used to make sure the landowners get a fair price for their property.

Justice Mark Gibbons, who wrote another dissent, said in this case the fee and leasehold interests of each property owner must be appraised separately and their values aggregated. He said the interpretation of the law by the majority "fails to provide for just compensation."

Gibbons, with Justice Miriam Shearing joining him, said "It is unjust to take an individual property owner's land and refuse to properly compensate him for his loss." He said he would uphold the decision of Judge Mahan.