Mill Creek Properties, Inc., et al. v. City of Columbia
| Docket Number: | 2004-CA-02299-COA Linked Case(s): 2004-CA-02299-SCT2004-CT-02299-SCT2004-CA-02299-COA |
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| Oral Argument: | 10-06-2005 | |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 02-07-2006 Opinion Author: Griffis, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Property - Road access - Public interest - Damages Judge(s) Concurring: King, C.J., Lee and Myers, P.JJ., Irving, Chandler, Barnes and Ishee, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Southwick and Roberts, JJ. Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - OTHER |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 10-22-2004 Appealed from: MARION COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT Judge: Michael R. Eubanks Disposition: PUBLIC ROAD CLOSING UPHELD. APPELLANTS HELD NOT TO BE COMPENSABLE PARTIES. Case Number: E2004-0092 |
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| Consolidated: Petition for Writ of Certiorari denied at 2004-CA-02299-SCT. | ||
| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | MILL CREEK PROPERTIES, INC. AND BY-PASS
PROPERTIES, LLC F/K/A PS-BS, LLC |
CANDANCE L. RICKMAN, WILLIAM E. ANDREWS, III |
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| Appellee: | CITY OF COLUMBIA, MISSISSIPPI | WILLIAM C. CALLENDER |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Property - Road access - Public interest - Damages |
| Summary of the Facts: | For many years, Columbia-Purvis Road was one of two main streets into and out of the City of Columbia. Columbia-Purvis Road consists of residences, property owned by the Griner family, Mill Creek Properties, Inc.’s strip mall, Jack’s Restaurant, and a convenience store. Bypass Properties, LLC owns the restaurant and convenience store. Eventually, the city closed off Columbia-Purvis Road at the Broad Street intersection and rerouted the previous Columbia-Purvis traffic onto the new Wal-Mart road, named Sumrall Road. Walter Payton Drive was also constructed in order to give access from Sumrall Road to Columbia-Purvis Road. The Marion County Circuit Court ordered the city to reopen Columbia-Purvis Road and give notice and a hearing to Mill Creek and Bypass. If necessary, the city was to compensate them. The city erected a sign to close off the portion of Columbia-Purvis Road which did not include Mill Creek and Bypass’s properties. The city did not reopen the road but held a hearing. The Board of Alderman reaffirmed the road closing. The Board determined that Mill Creek and Bypass were not entitled to compensation, because their properties no longer abutted the closed portion of the road. On appeal, the circuit court affirmed. Mill Creek and Bypass appeal. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Mill Creek and Bypass argue that the road closing was not proper, because the Board of Alderman never determined the closing to be in the public interest and was solely motivated to promote the private interests of Wal-Mart and the Griners. Before a municipality may close a public road, it must find the closing is for the public good and compensate abutting landowners for any damages. A city may not close a road just to benefit a private party. Here, there was substantial evidence to support the city’s finding that Columbia-Purvis Road needed to be closed for safety and traffic reasons. Based on testimony from the Department of Transportation and an engineer, the Board determined that the intersection of Broad Street and the Columbia-Purvis Road impedes the orderly flow of vehicular traffic and constitutes a danger to the safety of the traveling public. Mill Creek and Bypass also argue that they are entitled to compensation, because they suffered special damages. Generally, a landowner on a partially closed road, whose land is on the opened portion, cannot claim damages if he still has reasonable access to the general system of roads unless the road closing leaves the landowner in a cul de sac. Here, the landowners, who are south of the new access road, are no longer in a cul de sac. There are now two ways to access their portion of Columbia Purvis Road. If a landowner is not abutting the closed portion of the road, he must prove special damages in order to recover. Mill Creek and Bypass argue that the value of their commercial property has been specially damaged because of diverted traffic flow. Diverting traffic onto a new road is not special damages for which a landowner may recover. |
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