Property owners who lived near Chesapeake Airport have won the right to damages for noise and vibration that they say has ruined the once quiet, rural setting of their West Landing Estates neighborhood.
In operation since 1977, the airport completed its last runway extension in 1999. George and Margaret Osipovs bought their home in March 2001 for $246,600. The airport and its neighbors apparently co-existed peacefully until early 2003, when the airport began using instrument landing systems. The landowners complained about the increased frequency of landings and departures, and about the types of aircraft coming and going. The Osipovs said the ILS brought low-flying aircraft directly in over their rooftop.
After talks between the airport and surrounding property owners failed to produce the kind of mitigation the neighbors wanted, the Osipovs sued.
On Nov. 16, Chesapeake Circuit Judge Randall D. Smith rejected the owners' claim of a taking under the Virginia Constitution, saying the Osipovs had managed to sell their home in 2006 for more than twice the 2001 purchase price.
But Smith said in Osipovs v. Chesapeake Airport Authority that the Osipovs are entitled to damages for a partial diminution in value from the significant increase in volume, frequency and vibrations from noise due to aircraft flying directly overhead.
The property owners’ claim for just compensation can be determined in a proceeding under Virginia Code § 8.01-187, Smith ruled.
The Osipovs’ case is the first of 12 companion inverse condemnation cases alleging taking and damage resulting from the airport’s expansion, according to Norfolk lawyer Joe Waldo, who represents the Osipovs.
Showing posts with label Condemnation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Condemnation. Show all posts
Monday, November 19, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Supreme Court affirms large awards
It was a good day in the Supreme Court of Virginia for the holders of big verdicts.
The court affirmed seven-figure judgments in four cases with nothing in common other than the size of the awards.
In Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner v. Target Corp., the court upheld an award of $3.3 million in damages to the residue of the property taken in the condemnation of land taken for the expansion of Roberts Parkway in Fairfax County.
The retailer contended that the project hampered the visibility of its store. The court ruled that the commissioner had not preserved its objection to visibility as an element of damages but emphasized that whether it can be remains unresolved.
In John Crane Inc. v. Jones, the court affirmed a $3.4 million award for estate of a man who died from mesothelioma contracted while installing asbestos insulation on ships at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.
In King v. Cooley, the court upheld a $1.65 million judgment for a woman who contended that she suffered a permanent brain injury from complications of gastric bypass surgery.
In Banks v. Mario Industries, the court affirmed a $1.6 million judgment for a lighting manufacturer and supply company against former employees who left the company to form a competing business. The company alleged tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty and related legal theories.
The court affirmed seven-figure judgments in four cases with nothing in common other than the size of the awards.
In Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner v. Target Corp., the court upheld an award of $3.3 million in damages to the residue of the property taken in the condemnation of land taken for the expansion of Roberts Parkway in Fairfax County.
The retailer contended that the project hampered the visibility of its store. The court ruled that the commissioner had not preserved its objection to visibility as an element of damages but emphasized that whether it can be remains unresolved.
In John Crane Inc. v. Jones, the court affirmed a $3.4 million award for estate of a man who died from mesothelioma contracted while installing asbestos insulation on ships at Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.
In King v. Cooley, the court upheld a $1.65 million judgment for a woman who contended that she suffered a permanent brain injury from complications of gastric bypass surgery.
In Banks v. Mario Industries, the court affirmed a $1.6 million judgment for a lighting manufacturer and supply company against former employees who left the company to form a competing business. The company alleged tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty and related legal theories.
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