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A man who didn’t like the offer county officials made to acquire a portion of his land failed to appeal in a timely manner, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Shawn Beasley owns real property located on Old Lanesville Road NE in Georgetown. The Harrison County Board of Commissioners aimed to obtain a portion of Beasley’s property for the purpose of a county road improvement project, which would include the complete reconstruction of Old Lanesville Road.
In June 2021, the board offered Beasley $18,880 as compensation for a portion of the land and for a temporary easement. The offer was based on appraisals obtained by the board.
After Beasley refused the offer, he and the board were unable to come to any kind of agreement.
As a result, in August 2021, the board filed a complaint for appropriation of real estate, requesting that the Harrison Circuit Court order the appropriation and appoint three disinterested parties to appraise the interests to be appropriated and the amount of the benefits and damages, if any, caused by the appropriation.
In response, Beasley admitted he had refused the offer and stated he did not believe the board had made a satisfactory offer to adequately compensate him for the proposed condemnation. He then filed his objection to the proceedings pursuant to Indiana Code § 32-24-1-8(a)(3).
Beasley further alleged he had hired an appraiser who had prepared an appraisal report and had valued the board’s taking of Beasley’s property to result in damages in an amount not less than $200,000. He requested that the trial court dismiss the complaint with prejudice.
Initially, Beasley did not allege the board had failed to negotiate with him, failed to operate in good faith or failed to follow the statutory requirements set forth under I.C. 32-24-1-3. But during a subsequent hearing, he alleged for the first time that the board did not conduct good-faith negotiations with him, asserting the appraisal underlying the offer was unreliable and deficient because it failed to utilize appropriate procedures.
Overruling Beasley’s objection, the trial court concluded that, because there was no factual dispute that the board obtained an independent appraisal for the property at issue, based the offer on that appraisal and set forth its offer in a uniform letter sent to Beasley, the offer was a good-faith offer as a matter of law.
That order was issued Feb. 24, 2022. Beasley filed a notice of appeal on March 25, and the transcript was filed May 6.
In rejecting his interlocutory appeal, the Court of Appeals opined that Beasley failed to meet appellate deadlines and thus dismissed.
“Here, Beasley filed his notice of appeal on March 25, 2022. The Notice of Filing of Transcript was filed with the Clerk of the Harrison County Circuit Court on May 6, 2022, which was over thirty days after his notice of appeal was filed,” Chief Judge Cale Bradford wrote. “Therefore, Beasley failed to strictly comply with Indiana Code section 32-24-1-8(g) and cannot claim relief under the statute.”
The case is Shawn L. Beasley v. Harrison County Board of Commissioners, 22A-CP-673.
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