Missouri family rejected $238,000 for its land; court awarded them $2.1 million
A Missouri family successfully challenged a county's low compensation offer for their 15-acre property, eventually receiving a $2.1 million court award. The final judgment included fair market value plus a 'heritage value' bonus for long-term family ownership.
Why it matters
This case illustrates the legal complexities of eminent domain and the potential for property owners to secure higher compensation through litigation.
In 1904, a Missouri family acquired 15 acres of land in what is now Chesterfield. More than a century later, St Louis County condemned the property for a highway project, turning the land into the centre of a long legal battle over how much it was worth.The 15-acre tract at 1653 Creve Coeur Mill Road was deeded to Arthur Novel in 1904, according to FindLaw.Arthur and his wife, Stella, lived on the property and operated it as a farm until their deaths. The property had been vacant since 1968 and no house stood there when the county took it.By then, the land was heavily wooded, with a creek, steep bluff and sloping terrain. St Louis County wanted the property for the Page/Olive Connector as part of the extension of Highway 141.
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