Burns v. PennDOT — Misleading Plot Plan Tolls 30-Day Deadline and Opens Separate De Facto Taking Claim
The Commonwealth Court reversed a trial court order striking a de facto condemnation claim from a condemnee’s petition for appointment of viewers. PennDOT’s plot plan showed the condemnee’s home excluded from a County Line Road right-of-way expansion, but a subsequent survey revealed the taking included part of the house’s porch. The court held that a misleading plot plan tolls the Eminent Domain Code’s 30-day filing deadline and permits the condemnee to pursue both de jure and de facto taking claims in a single viewer proceeding.