Eminent Domain Report

Public utilities rely on access to private and public land to build and maintain essential infrastructure. When voluntary acquisition efforts fall short, litigation becomes a necessary tool to secure those rights. Understanding the eminent domain litigation process enables utilities to navigate court procedures effectively, maintain project timelines, and manage risk while balancing the rights of property owners. This overview dives into what happens once litigation becomes necessary. …

Californians who have owned their properties for years understand the benefits of Proposition 13: their property taxes are based upon the property's purchase price (with only small allowable annual increases), as opposed to the property's current value.  But upon a transfer, the property gets reassessed at its current value.  Consequently, people in California often wind up with higher property taxes when they sell one property and buy another, even if the new property costs exactly what they received for the sale of the old property.

When an owner is forced to "sell" as a result of the ...

All eminent domain attorneys know the importance of getting the Final Order of Condemnation right.  After all, it's the document that gets recorded, effecting the transfer of title to the agency.  But sometimes mistakes occur, and when they do, the condemning agency typically has a remedy. 

In DFP, LTD v. Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District, an unpublished opinion issued earlier this week, the agency requested a nunc pro tunc order revising the final order to correct a "scrivener's error."  The error:  the recorded final order stated that the agency acquired an easement, when ...