Background
The Idaho Transportation Board condemned part of property owned by Triple Crown Development, LLC, for a highway-interchange project. Triple Crown and several related companies, all controlled by Lance Thueson, sought business damages under Idaho Code section 7-711(2)(b).
Triple Crown owned the condemned land. Americrete Land Holding LLC owned adjacent land, where the intervening companies operated gravel, concrete, and construction businesses. Thueson said he had intended for River Rock Sand & Gravel LLC to mine gravel from the condemned land and for the related companies to process and transport it, but no permits were obtained and mining never began there.
The district court granted the State summary judgment, holding that neither Triple Crown nor the intervenors met the statute’s ownership requirements for business damages. It also denied reconsideration.
The Court’s Holding
The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed. Reading the condemnation statutes together, it held that “owned” in section 7-711(2)(b) means ownership by the fee title holder, not a beneficial ownership interest asserted through a joint venture or common corporate control.
Triple Crown did not own the businesses seeking damages, and those businesses did not operate on Triple Crown’s condemned property. The intervenors operated on property fee-owned by Americrete, not Triple Crown. Thueson’s control of the related entities did not satisfy the statute, particularly because he was not the fee title owner and was not a party. The Court also denied the State’s request for appellate attorney fees because the appeal was not frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.
Key Takeaways
- Business-damages eligibility under Idaho Code section 7-711(2)(b) turns on fee-title ownership.
- Common control, beneficial ownership, and a claimed joint venture do not substitute for the statute’s ownership requirement.
- The Court affirmed summary judgment without reaching the parties’ other disputes, including five-year standing and the asserted adjacency issue.
Why It Matters
The decision narrows the ability of affiliated entities to recover business damages in Idaho condemnation proceedings. Businesses seeking such damages must fit the statutory ownership structure: the condemnee must own the business, or the business must operate on adjoining land owned or held by that same fee-title owner.