Eminent Domain Report

Procedures governing eminent domain actions differ in some respects from other areas of law. Notably, all issues, except the sole issue of compensation, are adjudicated by the court. This requires the court to decide issues of law before the jury can determine compensation, complicating timing issues even where civil code sections on the matter seem straightforward.

Pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure § 583.310, “An action shall be brought to trial within five years after the action is commenced against the defendant.” Absent a written stipulation, oral agreement ...

In California eminent domain cases, appraisers typically have relatively wide latitude in determining fair market value for the property to be acquired. However, there are certain rules they must follow, and when an appraiser violates those rules, the appraiser’s opinion may be completely stricken, leaving a property owner or a public agency with no valuation evidence. This is precisely what happened in a new unpublished California Court of Appeal decision, Solano Transportation Authority v. Anderson (2021 Cal.App. Unpub. LEXIS 2129), where the property owners’ ...