Foley

Following the grant of a motion in limine to exclude the testimony of the defense appraiser in this action for eminent domain, the parties stipulated to a valuation of the real property in the amount the appraiser for plaintiff County of Glenn (the County) had set, and the trial court entered judgment in accordance with this stipulation. Defendant Patrick Foley, trustee of a marital trust holding fee title to the subject property, filed a timely notice of appeal.

Foley contends the use of a motion in limine to eviscerate his case violated his right to a jury trial; the trial court’s reliance on evidence outside the record to grant the motion was error; and the substantive bases for the ruling were incorrect. We agree with the latter point and shall reverse the judgment with directions to the trial court to deny the motion in limine.

*396 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The County submitted the following facts in support of its July 2010 motion in limine. It has been renting nearly 200 acres on Foley’s property for use as a landfill since 1971. In 2008, the board of supervisors determined that the County should acquire a fee interest in the existing leased land…