People v. Ayon

In People v. Ayon (1960) 54 Cal.2d 217, operators of a supermarket appealed from a judgment awarding them damages in an eminent domain action brought for a street widening project. Among other matters, they argued the trial court erred in rejecting their offer of proof of injury that could result during the period of construction. The court ruled such damages, if they ever happened, could not be recovered until they occurred. ( Ayon, supra, 54 Cal.2d at p. 229.) In dicta, the court set forth the rules of law that govern whether an adjacent landowner could recover for temporary injury resulting from construction of public streets. It is this dicta on which Reed relies. The court stated: "Temporary injury resulting from actual construction of public improvements is generally noncompensable. . . . Appellants are not entitled to compensation for temporary interference with their right of access, provided such interference is not unreasonable, that is, occasioned by actual construction work. It is often necessary to break up pavement, narrow streets and provide inconvenient modes of ingress and egress to abutting property during the time streets are being repaired or improved. Such reasonable and temporary interference with the property owner's right of access is noncompensable." ( Ayon, supra, 54 Cal.2d at p. 228.) Reed directs us to the forgoing passage, but fails to refer us to the Ayon court's next paragraph: "It is true that damages resulting from unnecessary and substantial temporary interference with the property owner's rights in the property may be compensable. Thus, in Heimann v. City of Los Angeles (1947) 30 Cal.2d 746, 755, 185 P.2d 597, it was stated to be the rule that 'unnecessary and substantial temporary interference with such property rights or an actual though temporary invasion of the right of possession of private property during construction' is compensable. This would, of course, include additional unnecessary and substantial damage caused by reason of the improvement not being constructed as originally planned ." ( Ayon, supra, 54 Cal.2d at pp. 228-229, )