Pombo

Having decided to build a new high school, plaintiff Tracy Joint Unified School District (the District) filed this eminent domain action to acquire 61.6 acres in the middle of a 231-acre parcel of raw development land owned by defendant Ernest J. Pombo, Jr., and others.

The trial resulted in a battle of real estate appraisers. The District’s expert valued the taking at about $3 million, with no severance damages. Defendants’ expert fixed total compensation at around $12.4 million, including almost $3.1 million in severance damages.

The jury split the difference. It awarded defendants $7,085,150, plus severance damages of $900,000, for a total compensation award of $7,985,150. The verdict virtually matched defendants’ pretrial settlement demand of $7,995,000, but was a far cry from the District’s final offer of $3,181,500.

Defendants moved to recover their litigation expenses under Code of Civil Procedure section 1250.410, contending that the District’s offer was unreasonable and that their demand was reasonable. The trial court denied the motion, determining that the offer was reasonable under the circumstances.

On this appeal, we shall conclude that the District’s…