Section 9.5A General Standards

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

The Arizona Supreme Court has recognized that value and damages in condemnation proceedings are not always susceptible of precise proof, and in many cases can only be approximately shown. Nevertheless, the method used to appraise is certainly subject to scrutiny. There must be an attempt to use a reasonably accurate and realistic method of valuation.

City of Tucson v. Rickles, 109 Ariz. 82, 505 P.2d 253 (1973) (an appraisal which attributed all of the value in a trailer court, including streets, a well and other common facilities, to each rentable trailer site, and then estimated damages by the number of trailer sites taken or impacted, was not a proper valuation method)

Mobil Oil v. Phoenix Central Christian Church, 138 Ariz. 397, 675 P.2d 284 (App. 1983) (the capitalization approach to valuation, which is generally based upon the capitalization of the rental income of the property, is an unacceptable method of allocating a condemnation award between a lessor and lessee)

City of Tucson v. Farness, 19 Ariz. App. 458, 508 P.2d 345 (1973) (a valuation method which attributed a “contributing value” to the unimproved property which was condemned as a result of the improvements on the property, to wit, the house, was an erroneous method and the appellate court reduced the verdict by...