Eminent Domain Report

When public projects are being constructed, surrounding property owners typically experience construction impacts, such as noise, dust, fumes, vibration and road detours.  Typically, absent a physical taking of property, those construction impacts are not compensable under an inverse condemnation claim unless the property owner experiences a direct, substantial, and peculiar impact.  While this has generally been the law in California for quite some time, a recent published California Court of Appeal decision, Today’s IV, Inc. v. Los Angeles County Metropolitan ...

Light rail and rapid transit appear to be the hot ticket in California.  Most of our right-of-way acquisition and eminent domain work over the last few years has centered on such projects.  One interesting dispute that regularly pops up between the land owner's appraiser and the public agency's appraiser is whether or not there are "project benefits".  In analyzing the property's "before-condition" value, such benefits need to be excluded (whether positive or negative).  (See Code Civ. Proc., sec. 1263.330.)  But when assessing the property's "after-condition" value in the case ...

We recently wrapped up assisting with the acquisition of several part-takes of commercial and residential properties for a public transit project.  One of the big issues involved with each of the acquisitions centered on whether the project provided the impacted properties with benefits that would offset the potential severance damages.

By way of background, when only a portion of property is acquired through the use of eminent domain, the acquiring entity is required to pay not only for the portion of the property acquired, but also for any decline in value the remainder ...