In an article entitled DOT Mishandled Brookfield Quarry Acquisition, NewsTimeLive.com (http://www.newstimes.com/ci_12991443) of August 4, 2009, reports that a Connecticut trial judge not only awarded the property owners $22.9 million on the State DOT’s valuation of $4.1 million, but also chewed out the state for its conduct which she characterized as “unprofessional, lacking in dilligence and less than scrupulous.” She found the state’s appraisers lacking in “preparation, experience or professional credentials to render a fair valuation.” She noted that their appraisal reports were used “solely to minimize the quarry’s value.”
Afterthought. Given the judge’s severe criticism of the State’s appraisal performance, this may have been a proper case for the use of the term “Floccinaucinihilipilificators” — for the definition, see Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. Kelso Corp., 416 A.2d 1339, 1340 (Md.App. 1980).