Jury awards $101K for road widening in yard

Jaeger Road project ended in court

A Lorain couple whose yard fell victim to the Jaeger Road widening will receive $101,635 for the land, according to a jury ruling.

A jury returned the verdict to compensate John and Elinor McKiel, who live at 3015 Jaeger Road and have a rental home at 3005 Jaeger Road.

For years, the Lorain City Engineer’s Office planned to widen Jaeger Road, an eastwest thoroughfare on Lorain’s west side.

The wider road then ran across the McKiels’ yard, which led to the legal dispute.

They and engineers for the city of Lorain split over how much the McKiels should receive because of the loss of their land. The McKiels and their attorney also argued the road project created an unsafe slope that made it difficult to drive into and out of their property.

A jury late July 22 returned the verdict, according to records from the court of Probate Judge James Walther.

The jury’s job was to determine the value of a 7-foot wide strip of the McKiels’ land needed to widen the road, said their attorney, Robert Gargasz of Lorain.

“The nature of the award is an assessment of the value of the 7-foot taking of the McKiels’ property,” he said. “Basically what they did was cut a whole 7-foot swath across the north end of their property.

“It’s less than what I was seeking, but that’s what the jury does, they decide what the amount is,” Gargasz said. “My clients are happy so I guess I’m happy. We always try to take care of the client.”

The court case lasted about three years, said attorney Richard Makowski of Columbus, who represented the city of Lorain.

It was not altogether surprising the jury considered elements including the city appraisal of the land, the testimony of Elinor McKiel and damages to the land, he said.

“In my experience in handling these types of trials, it’s very rare that a jury comes back exactly on one party’s numbers or the other,” Makowski said. “It’s more often a blend.

“It’s exercise of the jury’s discretion, making a decision based on all the information that’s provided to them,” he said.

Makowski said he did not have a chance yet to consult with Lorain Law Director Pat Riley on the verdict, but he expected an appeal is unlikely.

Walther declined to comment on the value, but said the case represents the way law works in Ohio. When a government takes property of citizens, if the citizens and government cannot agree on a value of the land, a jury of peers decides the value, the judge said.

“The jury has spoken and that’s their verdict,” Walther said. “I think they’ve done a great job,” because voting and serving on juries are the two most important functions people can do in a democracy, he said.

Lorain City Engineer Dale Vandersommen declined to comment on the case.