May a ditch authority award a construction contract for an improvement while a benefits and damages appeal is pending? Pestka v. County of Blue Earth, 654 N.W.2d 153 (Minn. App. 2002). When a jury finding reduced their benefits and increased their damages from a proposed ditch improvement, with the result that overall benefits no longer exceeded costs and damages, landowners petitioned the Blue Earth County Board of Commissioners, acting as the ditch authority, to dismiss the improvement petition. The County Board, however, accepted an amendment to the viewers’ report that corrected a previous error in capitalizing benefit and increased the overall benefit to an extent that allowed the improvement to proceed legally. The Court of Appeals rejected the landowners’ argument that the County Board lacked the authority to accept the amended viewers’ report. The Court also ruled that under the drainage statutes, while a construction contract may not be awarded while an order to proceed with an improvement is under appeal, it may be awarded if a pending appeal concerns only the amount of benefits or damages. Full text of ruling
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