§ 136-109. Appointment of commissioners.
§136‑109. Appointment of commissioners.
(a) Upon request of theowner in the answer, or upon motion filed by either the Department ofTransportation or the owner within 60 days after the filing of answer, theclerk shall appoint, after the determination of other issues as provided byG.S. 136‑108 of this Chapter, three competent, disinterested freeholdersresiding in the county to go upon the property and under oath appraise thedamage to the land sustained by reason of the taking and report same to the courtwithin a time certain. If no request or motion is made for the appointment ofcommissioners within the time permitted, the cause shall be transferred to thecivil issue docket for trial as to the issue of just compensation.
(b) Such commissioners,if appointed, shall have the power to make such inspection of the property,hold such hearings, swear such witnesses, and take such evidence as they may,in their discretion, deem necessary, and shall file into court a report oftheir determination of the damages sustained.
(c) Said report ofcommissioners shall in substance be in written form as follows:
TO THE SUPERIOR COURT OF___________ COUNTY
We,_________, _________ and __________ Commissioners appointed by the Court toassess the damages that have been and will be sustained by ______________, theowner of certain land lying in ____________ County, North Carolina, which hasbeen taken by the Department of Transportation for highway purposes, do herebycertify that we convened, and, having first been duly sworn, visited thepremises, and took such evidence as was presented to us, and after taking intofull consideration the quality and quantity of the land and all other factswhich reasonably affect its fair market value at the time of the taking, we havedetermined the fair market value of the part of the land taken to be the sum of$____________ and the damage to the remainder of the land of the owner byreason of the taking to be the sum of $____________ (if applicable).
We havedetermined the general and special benefits resulting to said owner from theconstruction of the highway to be the sum of $____________ (if applicable).
GIVEN under our hands, this the_______ day of _____________, _________
____________________________ (SEAL)
____________________________ (SEAL)
____________________________ (SEAL)
(d) A copy of thereport shall at the time of filing be mailed to each of the parties. Within 30days after the filing of the report, either the Department of Transportation orthe owner, may except thereto and demand a trial de novo by a jury as to theissue of damages. Whereupon the action shall be placed on the civil issuedocket of the superior court for trial de novo by a jury as to the issue ofdamages, provided, that upon agreement of both parties trial by jury may bewaived and the issue determined by the judge. The report of commissioners shallnot be competent as evidence upon the trial of the issue of damages in thesuperior court, nor shall evidence of the deposit by the Department of Transportationinto the court be competent upon the trial of the issue of damages. If noexception to the report of commissioners is filed within the time prescribedfinal judgment shall be entered by the judge upon a determination and findingby him that the report of commissioners, plus interest computed in accordancewith G.S. 136‑113 of this Chapter, awards to the property owners justcompensation. In the event that the judge is of the opinion and, in hisdiscretion, determines that such award does not provide just compensation heshall set aside said award and order the case placed on the civil issue docketfor determination of the issue of damages by a jury. (1959,c. 1025, s. 2; 1961, c. 1084, s. 5; 1963, c. 1156, s. 6; 1973, c. 108, s. 85;c. 507, s. 5; 1977, c. 464, s. 7.1; 1999‑456, s. 59.)