USA v. CAMPION
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today released an opinion in USA v. CAMPION, No. 06-15410, an appeal in a civil action against the United States. The panel consisted of William C. Canby, Jr. and Milan D. Smith, Jr., Circuit Judges, and Stephen G. Larson, District Judge.
CANBY, Circuit Judge:
In this case, we review a district judge’s discretion to exclude expert testimony regarding electromagnetic fields (”EMFs”) in a condemnation action. The United States condemned an easement on land belonging to Donn Campion for the construction of power transmission lines. At trial, both sides offered expert testimony regarding diminution of value of the remaining land resulting from the power lines within the easement. While some of this testimony was allowed, the judge refused to let Campion’s expert, an environmental planner, testify about specific EMF levels on the land and the types of questions developers typically ask her about EMFs. A jury found that Campion was entitled to just compensation in the amount of $2,023,715. The district court entered judgment, and Campion appeals the exclusion of expert testimony. We affirm. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Campion owns 3,220 acres of land in Merced County, California. Acting on behalf of the Department of Energy and the Western Area Power Administration, the United States filed an eminent domain action to acquire a right of way easement . . .