Scavo v. Commonwealth

In Scavo v. Commonwealth, 439 Pa. 233, 266 A.2d 759 (1970), Angelo and Frank Scavo (the Scavos) owned a 10.94 acre tract of land on the northern side of Moosic Street which was condemned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Highways (Commonwealth) for the purpose of constructing Interstate 81. The Board of View had awarded the Scavos $ 39,000 plus detention damages. Both parties appealed to the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the Scavos in the amount of $ 55,000 plus detention damages. The Commonwealth eventually sought review by our Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Scavo, 439 Pa. at 235, 266 A.2d at 760. In Scavo, one of the issues the Commonwealth raised was that the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County erred when it overruled its objections to the testimony of Angelo Scavo and Herbert Jones (Jones), an expert witness for the Scavos, on the basis that the two witnesses had based their opinion of the Scavos' property's fair market value in part on the price the Commonwealth paid for a property owned by Helen Kenowski (Kenowski). The Kenowski property was located 150-200 feet southwest of the Scavos' property and was condemned by the Commonwealth at the same time as the Scavos'. After a hearing before a Board of View, Kenowski and the Commonwealth reached a settlement of $ 8,772. Both Angelo Scavo and Jones testified that they considered this figure as part of the determination of the market price of the Scavos property. 439 Pa. at 238-239, 266 A.2d at 762. Our Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated and remanded: The subject of the admissibility of testimony as to sales of comparable property to a condemnor was discussed in the Concurring Opinion of Mr. Justice Pomeroy in Community Housing Services, Inc. v. Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority. . . 435 Pa. at 348, 253 A.2d 260 5. We concur in the reasoning expressed there and hold that the court below erred in overruling the Commonwealth's objections to this testimony. Scavo, 439 Pa. at 239, 266 A.2d at 762.