State of TN Dept. of Transportation vs. Tommie/Arlene Goodwin

This is a condemnation case. The State filed a petition to condemn a portion of property owned by the defendants for the improvement of a highway. The defendants did not challenge the State's right to condemn the property, but they asserted that the amount proffered by the State as payment for the property was inadequate. After a jury trial, the jury returned a verdict of $13,500. The defendants moved for a new trial or, in the alternative, for an additur. The trial court concluded that the jury's verdict did not adequately compensate the defendants for either their financial loss or the loss to their business resulting from the condemnation, so it granted the motion for an additur, suggesting an additur of $12,000. The State accepted the additur under protest and now appeals. We affirm, finding that the trial court's suggested additur did not constitute an impermissible award for lost profits.