Postell v. Bd. of Comm'rs of Houston County

The plaintiff did not show that he had any right to his late great-grandfather's property prior to title passing to the county under a condemnation order, thus he lacked standing to object to the order.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Crandall Postell’s great-grandfather died intestate in 1949. No administrator was ever appointed for his estate, which includes 101.26 acres in Houston County. On May 25, 2011, the Houston County Board of Commissioners, which sought to build a road using a small parcel of the property, filed a petition for condemnation and a declaration of taking and deposited the targeted property’s fair market value into the court registry. On July 25, the County dismissed this first petition; two days later, it filed a second condemnation petition and declaration of taking. On August 9, the court issued an order condemning the property in favor of the Board. On August 22, Postell’s mother executed a quitclaim deed concerning the property in her son’s favor. On August 23, Postell responded to the condemnation petition and filed a motion to set aside the condemnation on grounds including that he was an heir to the property, that the Board had not followed the procedures laid out in OCGA § 32-3-1 et seq., and that the Board had discriminated against him on the basis of his race and class. After a hearing, the trial court dismissed Postell’s objections on the ground that at the time title to the property passed to the Board, he had no interest in it and thus no standing to object.

On appeal, Postell argues pro se that the trial court erred when it dismissed his claims and that the condemnation proceedings violated the Georgia and United States Constitutions. We disagree.

Postell v. Bd. of Comm'rs of Houston County

The plaintiff did not show that he had any right to his late great-grandfather's property prior to title passing to the county under a condemnation order, thus he lacked standing to object to the order.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report