Contracts Can Be Crucial In Dividing "Taking" Settlements

9/ “CONTRACTS CAN BE CRUCIAL IN A TAKINGS CASE”:  Noble owned and leased land used by the SuperAmerica located next to the MSP Airport.  In 2004, the Metropolitan Airports Commission secured a court order to acquire the property through eminent domain.

The MAC made a single award of damages for the value of land and improvements to Noble.  The MAC allocated another portion of the award for the value of immovable fixtures and effectively left it to the courts to determine who was entitled to the allocation under the terms of the lease and applicable Minnesota law. 

SuperAmerica sued Noble for the value of the immovable fixtures.  It won in the district court and lost in the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

In 2009, then-Justice Gildea joined the unanimous Supreme Court in awarding the whole settlement for the taking to Noble because of the contract language in the lease.

The lease between Noble and Super America contained a condemnation clause that terminated the lease upon condemnation.  A “damages” clause gave Noble all rights to a condemnation award, with separate language that Noble ‘shall not be entitled to any award made to [lessee] for the fair value of, and cost of removal of stock and fixtures, provided a separate award is permitted by the taking authority directly to [lessee].” 

The commissioners clearly did not make a ‘separate award” “directly” to Super America.  We conclude that section 18(c) does not apportion part of the award to Super America and we therefore affirm the court of appeals decision to grant the fixtures award to Noble.

READ THE FULL CASE DECISION: 

Metropolitan Airports Commission, Respondent, vs. Thomas W. Noble, Respondent.

April 9, 2009                        2009-
https://mn.gov/law-library-stat/archive/supct/0904/OPA062400-0409.pdf