Hunt

The state, through the Department of Public Works, as condemnor, has appealed from an order of the trial court granting the condemnees a new trial after a judgment was entered on a verdict which awarded them the sum of $35,000 for the property taken. The condemnees’ notice of intention to move for a new trial incorporated each and every ground set forth in section 657 of the Code of Civil Procedure in substantially the language in which it then read. (See Stats. 1965, ch. 1749, § 1, p. 3922.) The motion was supported by the declaration of one of the condemnees’ attorneys, which alleged a discrepancy between the testimony expected and the testimony given by the condemnor’s appraiser which it is contended constituted accident or surprise, and by points and authorities which urged that the motion should be granted because the verdict was against the weight of the evidence which had been received in support of a greatér award. A counterdeclaration by the attorney for the condemnor evoked a declaration from a second attorney for the condemnees, which, in turn, produced a final declaration on behalf of the condemnor. The condemnor also filed points and authorities on the issue…