Title 54, Highways, Bridges And Ferries

The sheriff shall give the parties or their agent, if residents of the county where the suit is pending, three (3) days' notice of the time and place of taking the inquest, unless the time has been fixed by order of the court.

Before proceeding to act, the jury shall be sworn by the sheriff to fairly and impartially and without fear or favor to perform their duties as jurors, and to lay off by metes and bounds lands suitable for the easement or right-of-way and to inquire of and to assess the damages.

The jury will then proceed to examine the ground and may hear testimony, but no argument of counsel, and set apart by metes and bounds a sufficient quantity of the land or property for the purposes intended, and assess the damages occasioned to the parties interested or affected …

In estimating the damages, the jury shall give the cash value of the property taken and any incidental damages, but incidental benefits that may result to the owner by reason of the proposed easement or right-of-way being granted may be set off against incidental damages.

The report of the jury shall be made in writing and signed by a majority of the jurors, setting out the amount of damages to each defendant and the locality and extent of the easement granted, and delivered to and returned by the sheriff into the court.

The jury is authorized to locate the easement or right-of-way at a place where the easement or right-of-way will be of service to the petitioner and cause the least amount of monetary damage as practicable to the value of the intervening land.

(a) Any party may file objections to the report; provided, that, if an objection is filed by the owner or owners of land selected by the jury of view, the objection must be served upon all parties to the action. Further, the person making the objection must prepare a plat that co…

(a) The report may be modified by the court and the easement or right-of-way may be granted or decreed to the petitioners as the court may deem proper upon the payment to the defendant, or to the clerk of the court for the defendant's use, of the damages assessed, with costs and,…

(a) Within thirty (30) days, either party may appeal to the court from the finding of the jury of view, and demand a trial by a jury and, upon giving security for costs, may have a new trial before a jury of twelve (12) persons to be summoned and impaneled by the court in the usu…

If the verdict of the jury upon the trial affirms the finding of the jury of view, or is more unfavorable to the appellant than the finding of the jury, the costs shall be adjudged against the appellant; otherwise, the court may award costs as in chancery cases.

Upon the hearing of the case by the court or upon the judgment being pronounced on the verdict of the jury, the court may order a writ of possession to issue to place the petitioners in possession of the easement or right-of-way awarded to them.

The easement or right-of-way shall belong to the owners of the lands benefited by the easement or right-of-way, and continue as long as the easement or right-of-way is used and maintained by them, their heirs or assigns, but upon the easement or right-of-way falling into nonuse o…

In lieu of the absolute easement or right-of-way provided for in this chapter, the court, in its discretion, may grant a mutual use easement or right-of-way to the petitioner or petitioners and the owner or owners of the servient land. Under a mutual use easement or right-of-way,…

Notwithstanding § 54-14-102, there is no right to have an easement or right-of-way condemned and set aside for the benefit of the land surrounded or enclosed by the lands of any other person if the court determines that the ingress or egress to and from the surrounded or enclosed…