14.141 Condemnation; Consequential Damage; Offset for Consequential Benefits; When Applicable

14.141 Condemnation; Consequential Damage; Offset for Consequential Benefits; When Applicable (Charge only when there is evidence of consequential benefits.) In determining the amount of consequential damages, if any, you should consider whether the condemnation will benefit the land the owner has left and, if so, reduce the consequential damage by that amount. The reduced amount is the consequential damage. However, consequential benefits must be disregarded to the extent that they exceed consequential damages; that is, consequential benefits to the remaining property may be shown only as an offset against consequential damages, not as an offset against the value of land actually taken or used. (Note: When there is no evidence of any consequential benefits that accrued to the condemnee's remaining property, an instruction that consequential benefits can be deducted from consequential damages is reversible error.) Ball v. State Highway Dept., 108 Ga. App. 457 (1963) Dept. of Transp. v. Knight, 143 Ga. App. 748 (1977) Merritt v. Dept. of Transp., 147 Ga. App. 316 (1978); Merritt reversed, but on other grounds-- attorney's fees