Missouri Supreme Court upholds $2.1 million award for family after highway condemnation
A Missouri family’s 15-acre Chesterfield property taken for Highway 141 led to a Supreme Court affirmation of a $2.1 million judgment.
In 1904 Arthur and Stella Novel acquired 15 acres in what is now Chesterfield, Missouri. St. Louis County sought the land for the Highway 141 Page/Olive Connector and initially proposed $238,000, which the descendants rejected. After a commission’s $320,000 award, the family demanded a jury trial; the jury valued the property at $1.3 million, and the trial court added $650,000 in heritage value and $158,769 in prejudgment interest, totaling roughly $2.1 million.
The county appealed, contesting the appraisal by Ernest Demba, the heritage-value law, and certain testimonies. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s decision, finding the jury’s valuation reasonable and upholding the statutory heritage-value addition. The ruling leaves the Novel family with the full award for the condemned land.
Why it matters
The decision clarifies compensation rules for eminent-domain takings and reinforces Missouri’s heritage-value law.
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