School Board of Manatee County v. Bay Oaks, Inc.

Outcome: Judgment for Plaintiff

Description: Eminent domain case on behalf of school board for two strips of land, approximately 50 ft wide and 300 ft long each, owned by subdivision but which abutted a middle school's athletic fields and parking lot. Defendants claimed the land was worth at least $300,000. Our expert said his conservative estimate was that the land was worth $66,000 because the easements, restrictions and size of the lots made them impossible to develop for residential purposes. The judge agreed with our expert and set the value at $66,000.