Couple Win Suit With Caltrans

A couple who sued Caltrans, claiming it underestimated the value of their mobile home park by $700,000 when it seized the property for a freeway widening, won a jury verdict this week.

John C. Murphy, the couple’s Irvine-based attorney, said the verdict was highly unusual for an eminent domain case because juries tend to split the difference between competing appraisals. In this case, they awarded every penny sought by the plaintiffs.

Caltrans had offered the couple, Bertrand and Bessie Woodson, $1.2 million in 1996 to compensate for taking the 43-space Manor Park on Orangethorpe Avenue. The mobile homes were in the way of the Santa Ana Freeway widening project, for which Caltrans has seized hundreds of businesses and other real estate in eminent domain actions.

The Woodsons never disputed the state’s need for their land, just the appraisal amount.

Late Tuesday, an Orange County Superior Court jury said the Woodsons were correct in estimating their land value at $1.9 million. With interest, and possibly even attorneys fees, the couple may get up to $1.2 million more than Caltrans’ original appraisal, Murphy said.

“Probably the most important thing was we put together a team of expert witnesses,” he said. “We proved that Caltrans had never studied the true value of the property.”

Caltrans declined to comment.