Media Contact: Bell Legal Group Elise Crosby, 843-546-2408
Toll-Free: 877-546-2408
Martin S. Driggers, Sr. 843-332-5151
JURY VERDICT FORCES PROGRESS ENERGY TO PAY FAMILY
INLAND CONDEMNATION CASE
DARLINGTON, S.C., May 9, 2006--The Bell Legal Group announced today that on May 5, 2006, a Darlington County jury returned a $540,000 verdict against Progress Energy Corporation in a condemnation case, involving the Darlington-Sumter 230kv high-voltage transmission line that runs through Darlington County.
In 2002, Progress Energy notified the landowners in this case, Dr. and Mrs. Pickens Moyd, that they intended to run the lines through
their family farm, located outside of Hartsville, South Carolina. The Moyds, who have lived, worked, and raised their four sons on the farm, strongly objected, as they had already been subjected to two earlier public utility easements.
Despite the family's objections, in December 2003, Progress Energy condemned the land it sought for the high-voltage lines, taking three
different easements across the Moyd family farm. Progress Energy offered $31,640 for the easements, not including timber. The Moyds
rejected the offer and submitted their case to a circuit court jury last week. After three and a half days of testimony, the jury returned
their verdict-one of the largest of its kind in the state.
"Naturally, I was distressed when I learned Progress Energy had decided to take a third route across our farm for a public utility,"
said Pickens K. Moyd, Sr., 76. "This brings the total for various easements to over 50 acres of our land. This jury, in their wisdom,
recognized the unfairness of Progress Energy's offer for damages, and after careful consideration awarded damages approximately 15 times Progress Energy's best offer. I am delighted these jurors forced Progress Energy to pay us a fair price by calculating the value of our farm before they took our property and its value after they went across it. Perhaps this fair-minded jury has also set a precedent so
that in the future, Progress Energy will be forced to pay for damages they do to countless small relatively helpless landowners from whom they get land."
The Moyds were represented by J. Edward Bell, III of Georgetown, South Carolina and Martin S. Driggers, Sr. of Hartsville, South
Carolina. For more information about this verdict, contact the Law Offices of J. Edward Bell at 843-546-2408 or visit www.edbelllaw.com.
About the Bell Legal Group LLC
The attorneys and staff of the Bell Legal Group focus on select and challenging areas of law and bring 25 years litigation experience.
To successfully litigate the large scale cases for which the Bell Legal Group has become known for, the firm offers its own unique
reserve of capital, resources and state of the art technology. Leaving no stone unturned while pursuing justice, the firm has built its
reputation concentrating in the areas of automotive defect, medical malpractice, nursing home litigation, personal injury litigation and
police misconduct cases. For more information on the Bell Legal Group LLC call 877-546-2408 or visit www.edbelllaw.com.
