County of Los Angeles v. 8400 S. Vermont, L.P., et al.
Published: Feb. 10, 2023 | Result Date: Aug. 26, 2022 |Case number: BC686141 Verdict – $39,000,000
Judge
Court
Los Angeles County Superior Court
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Gregory M. Bergman
(BDG Law Group)
Brian J. Bergman
(BDG Law Group)
Defendant
Charles S. Krolikowski
(Newmeyer & Dillion LLP)
Leah K. McKechnie
(Newmeyer & Dillion LLP)
Facts
In 2017, Plaintiff County of Los Angeles filed an action to take real property (through eminent domain) from Defendant 8400 S. Vermont Avenue, L.P., et al. ("Owner") for a transportation project. The property, located at the corner of Vermont and Manchester in South Los Angeles ("Property"), was vacant at the time of the taking and was approximately 4.2 acres in size. The County initially offered about $15.7 million for the Property. The Owner contended at trial that the County owed $60,145,000 in just compensation for the taking. The County contended at trial that the Property was worth $17,980,000.
Result
After three weeks of trial, the jury rendered its verdict (11 to 1) awarding the Defendant/Owner $39 million in just compensation for the taking of the Property by the County. With mandatory interest and costs, the total awarded was over $40 million. In post-trial motion practice, Judge Murphy denied the Owner's Motion to Recover Litigation Expenses (totaling almost an additional $5 million in expenses and attorney's fees), finding that the County's final statutory offer was reasonable in light of the evidence presented at trial.
Other Information
The court's decision on the fee motion is now on appeal on the grounds that the Court made critical errors by improperly failing to consider the County's true or net offer of compensation. The County's offer included interest, cost, and fees, which should have been deducted from the gross offer to arrive at a net offer of compensation.
Deliberation
1 day
Poll
11 to 1
Length
15 days
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