Eminent Domain Report

As Nossaman’s annual eminent domain seminars are coming up on April 21st and April 28th, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to do a little refresher on the condemnation process so that attendees are ready to dive in at the upcoming seminars.

What is Eminent Domain?

Eminent domain is the power to take property for “public use” upon paying just compensation. This power is rooted in the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 19 of the California Constitution.

Who has the Power of Eminent Domain?

In California, traditional public entities ...

In Washington State, when a public agency determines it needs to acquire property for a public project, the agency will work directly with the private property owner to negotiate a purchase price for the property rights needed. However, if the agency reaches an impasse in the negotiations with the property owner, the public agency may turn to its eminent domain power and initiate a condemnation lawsuit. A condemnation lawsuit triggers the formal legal process for the agency to take private property for a public purpose without the owner’s consent in exchange for payment of just ...

When a property owner suffers damage as a result of the actions of a public agency or public improvement, the owner typically pursues typical tort causes of action against the agency, along with a claim for inverse condemnation. While liability for the tort claims is decided by a jury, liability for inverse condemnation is determined by a judge. So what happens when both claims are pursued simultaneously -- should the judge rely on the jury’s determination of causation, or should the judge make his or her own findings? 

Recently in Amedee Geothermal Venture I v. Lassen Municipal ...

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 This is precisely what happened in a new unpublished California Court of Appeal decision, Solano Transportation Authority v. Anderson (2021 Cal.App.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’ ...

On April 21, 2021, I will be participating in the sixth annual International Right of Way Association (IRWA) Chapter 57 and Southern California Chapter of the Appraisal Institute's (SCCAI) Virtual Joint Meeting. I will be a co-presenter discussing "Project Benefits - Do They Ever Apply, and If So, How Are Benefits Supported?" during which we will cover project benefits and their significance in the eminent domain arena. This program will also include:

• The statutory and case law landscape that gives rise to the issue of project benefits, when and how they may apply and methods and ...

When a public agency is acquiring private property for a public project, typically the key issue in dispute is how much the agency should pay -- what is “just compensation”? Determining the property’s value and any damages from the acquisition or public project is usually based on appraisals prepared for the public agency and property owner. A recent article written by Lauren Alexander, on behalf of the Owners' Counsel of America (a network of experienced eminent domain attorneys dedicated to defending the rights of private property owners across the US), highlights the top 10 ...

After adopting a resolution of necessity and initiating eminent domain proceedings to acquire private property, public agencies are usually in a rush to move forward with the proposed public project.  But every once in a while, those projects get delayed or postponed.  A recent court of appeal decision, Rutgard v. City of Los Angeles (2020) Cal.App. LEXIS 709, serves as an important reminder for public agencies that they must put the property to public use within 10 years or otherwise timely adopt a new resolution of necessity.  Absent doing so, the public agency has an obligation to offer ...