Council of San Benito County Governments v. Hollister Inn, Inc.

*478 Opinion

This case involves two consolidated actions in eminent domain brought by the Council of San Benito County Governments (COG), a joint powers authority created under a joint powers agreement between the County of San Benito, the City of Hollister, and the City of San Juan Bautista, to acquire property for the Highway 25 bypass project. In the eminent domain proceedings, COG sought to condemn real property or interests in real property belonging to “Janet P. Roberts, Trustee of The Janet P. Roberts Family Trust, created under Agreement dated November 24, 1982, as amended and restated” (Roberts) and respondent Hollister Inn, Inc. (Hollister Inn). The project resulted in the elimination of a roadway easement over Roberts’s private property connecting Hollister Inn’s property to Highway 25.

On appeal from the final judgment in condemnation, COG challenges (1) the trial court’s order of conditional dismissal that dismissed the action unless COG cured what the court found to be a gross abuse of discretion in adopting resolutions of necessity and (2) the trial court’s associated order awarding reasonable litigation expenses in the amount of $233,750 to respondent Hollister…