GDRSC votes to drop further appeal on Eminent Domain Case
October 18, 2007 - 10:45pm
Press Releases
from Groton-Dunstable Regional School District
The Groton-Dunstable Regional School Committee voted to drop any further appeal and settle the eminent domain case involving the high school land. The committee's decision will end an appeals process that has been ongoing for nearly two and a half years.
"I think it's time that we put this case behind us," stated Superintendent Alan Genovese, who recommended the appeal be dropped just before the vote. "If the district were to win an appeal, the case would need to be retried in its entirety. As we have already experienced, the time required for the courts to handle these cases is quite lengthy, and the additional interest charges that would accrue while the case is being retried would likely eliminate any savings from a reduced verdict amount."
The original jury verdict was announced in June of 2005, with a determined land value of $4,138,000. This decision was immediately appealed by the school committee, based on advice from two law firms that "expert" testimony given on behalf of the plaintiffs should not have been allowed, and that this testimony unfairly skewed the decision in the plaintiffs' favor. The appeals court rejected this argument in August of 2007.
"The only reason to continue this appeal would be to clarify the court's rules regarding expert testimony," explained School Committee Chair Cindy Barrett. "Although I still believe that inappropriate and unjustifiable testimony relating to the land's value was allowed, I no longer believe that it is in the taxpayer's best interest to resolve this question by continuing our appeal."
The final task remaining for the school district is to borrow the necessary funds to settle the case. The total cost to settle the case is approximately $2,840,000 after adding interest and subtracting the district's $1,800,000 payment made at the time of the taking. The district will bond $2.5 million based on the authority given by town meeting votes of both towns in the fall of 2005. The remaining funds will be paid from the district's land acquisition and high school building fund accounts. "It is important for everyone to know that we are not using any operating funds to pay for this settlement," explained Superintendent Genovese. "We will use our operating funds the way they were intended."
Tim Sheehan, Director of Business and Finance for the school district, indicated that he is working with the district's financial advisor to expedite the bonding process to pay the settlement as quickly as possible. Mr. Sheehan indicated that the settlement would not impact either town's current fiscal year (FY08) assessment.
Eminent Domain Timeline
| September 2000: | Groton Dunstable Regional School Committee votes to take Casella land by eminent domain. |
| March 2001: | Town votes in Groton and Dunstable approve $2.4M in funding to pay for land acquisition. |
| June 2005: | Jury verdict determines land value to be $4,138,000. District instructed to pay $2,541,373 to cover remaining land cost and interest accrued before the judgment. School Committee votes to appeal decision. |
| October 2005: | Town meeting votes to approve additional $2,500,000 for land acquisition. |
| August 2007: | Appeals Court denies appeal. District instructed to pay original $2,541,373 plus additional interest accrued since June 2005. (NOTE: District estimates the additional interest cost to be approximately $250,282). School committee files preliminary request for further review to the Supreme Judicial Court. |
| October 2007: | SC votes to drop further appeals and settle case. |
Estimated Costs and Source of Funds for Settlement
| Original Verdict Costs: | Land Value: | $4,138,000 |
|
| Minus Pro Tanto payment: | 1,800,000 |
|
| Differential | 2,338,000 |
|
| plus |
|
|
| Interest accrued pre-judgment: | 203,372 |
|
| Total due as of July 2005: | $2,541,373 |
| Additional Interest Costs: | July 2005 - November 2007: | 250,282 |
| Pending Legal fees (estimated final appeal and bonding fees): | 42,000 | |
| Estimated Final Settlement Costs: | $2,833,655 |
| Source of funds: |
|
| Bonds Authorized in 2005: | $2,500,000 |
| HS Land Acquisition Fund (est.): | 198,374 |
| HS Building Fund (est.): | 135,281 |
| Total | $2,833,655 |
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