"I think this may be the largest jury verdict in an eminent domain case in the history of the state of Oklahoma, certainly in Tulsa County," said Robert Nichols, attorney for Patrick and Marshaleta Taylor.
The undeveloped property runs along U.S. 75, east of the highway and north of 91st Street.
"The school district really respects the work of the jury. But we do not believe that the decision reflects the market value of the property at the time in question," said Jenks school district spokeswoman Bonnie Rogers.
She said the district is evaluating its options, including the possibility of appealing the jury decision.
The school district needs the land to build an expansion to its overcrowded Jenks West Elementary School, she said. The tract is directly north of the school across 91st Street.
"That land is undeveloped," Rogers said. "We didn't want to choose land someone has a house on."
In 2005, the Taylors bought the land for $350,000, court records show.
Nichols said the couple rezoned it as commercial and planned to hold it as an investment.
In late 2007, the Jenks school board voted to legally condemn the property, the first step in appropriating the land for public use under eminent domain laws.
Eminent domain allows public entities, such as school districts or utilities, to appropriate land for public use. Owners are entitled to reasonable compensation, which typically is fair market value for the property.
For eight months, the Taylors contested the board's right to take the property but lost the case. The district offered up to $395,000 for the land, but the Taylors then challenged the value of the property.
In spring 2008, court-appointed commissioners pegged the land's value at $1.4 million. The school district paid that amount and took the parcel that summer. The payment came from bond funds, Rogers said.
Both sides then pursued a jury trial regarding the value of the property.
In the jury case, Nichols said the school district's appraiser put the value at $1.1 million. The Taylor appraiser put the value of the land around $2.6 million and its value as a billboard location at $1 million.
On Monday, the jury came back with the $3.1 million judgment, he said. With booming development in the area recently, $3.1 million "is probably a bargain," said Nichols' law partner, Brian Curthoys, who also represented the Taylors.
Nichols said he believes the jury's verdict hinged on the fact the school district entered into two billboard contracts with Lamar Outdoor Advertising Co. after it took the property.
"I think the jury in this case was somewhat taken aback by the fact that the school board would take the property and then put commercial billboards on it," Nichols said.
Rogers said the Jenks school district did sign two contracts with Lamar, but under city ordinance can't put billboards on the property until there is commercial activity there.
"We do not have billboards on the property at the present time," she said.
Once the school building is constructed, an independent community education program is expected to use the building to offer a variety of classes for the community. Those community classes would constitute commercial activity, Rogers said.
As it stands, the Jenks school district will be required to pay the Taylors' attorney fees and costs, which exceed $1.5 million, Nichols said.
"In Oklahoma, if you beat the commissioner's award by more than 10 percent, then the condemning authority has to reimburse your attorneys' fees and costs on top of what they pay you," he said.
Original Print Headline: Jury awards $3.1 million in Jenks land dispute
Kim Archer 918-581-8315kim.archer@tulsaworld.com
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