A condemning agency has the right to appeal even if a trial court determined there was no public necessity for a proposed acquisition by condemnation, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, reversing a lower court action.
In Consumers Energy Company v. Storm (SC Docket No. 162416), the Supreme Court in a per curiam decision reversed in part a previous Court of Appeals decision.
The case revolves around the law setting standards for the acquisition of property, condemnation actions and determination of compensation. In this case, the Court of Appeals had ruled the law limits appellate action when a trial court determines a proposed acquisition fails to satisfy the need of public necessity, and that it did not have jurisdiction to take the appeal.
The Supreme Court disagreed.
"The Court of Appeals should have considered the condemning agency's appeal as of right and reached the ultimate question of whether the trial court erred by holding that there was no public necessity for the proposed acquisition," the decision said. "Therefore, it is not yet apparent that the proposed acquisition was improper such that the property owners would be entitled to reimbursement so as to avoid being 'forced to suffer because of an action that they did not initiate and that endangered, through condemnation proceedings, their right to private property.'"
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