Eminent Domain Law

In claimants' proceedings for compensation arising from condemnation of their beachfront homes, the county appealed from Supreme Court's awards of $1,750,000 and $1,830,000 to the two claimants. The Appellate Division modified to reduce the awards to $1,578,000 and $1,646,000, concluding that Supreme Court had improperly adjusted the awards for condemnation blight.

In 2016, the County of Suffolk took title to two beachfront homes on Fire Island as part of a project to reconstruct beaches and restore the dune network. At a nonjury trial on just compensation, the parties agreed that the highest and best use of the property was residential, and the parties and the county produced expert testimony, using a sales comparison approach, on the issue of the market value of the properties. Supreme Court reached a valuation figure in between the estimates by the claimants and the count. In reaching that valuation, the court included an upward adjustment of 5% for the impact of condemnation blight on the properties. Claimants' expert had testified that in light of Hurricane Sandy, comparable waterfront properties had declined in value because of the fear that condemnation proceedings might be instituted. The county appealed, arguing that the adjustment was unwarranted and also contending that other adjustments to comparable sales were improper.