Eminent Domain

Our Constitution requires that no private property may be taken for public use without payment of just compensation. Eminent domain law – often called “condemnation” law – enforces the constitutional limits on the power of the government and some public utilities to take private property and enforces the right of property owners to be paid for any land and property that is taken.

Eminent domain refers to the power possessed by the government to appropriate property for a public use—as when the government decides to build a road or a public facility. In some jurisdictions, the state delegates eminent domain power to certain public and private companies, typically utilities, such that they can bring eminent domain actions to run telephone, power, water, or gas lines. Proceedings to take land under eminent domain are typically referred to as "condemnation" proceedings.

Typically, when a public project is planned, the government or the utility company notifies a property owner of the prospect that his or her land will be taken. The government has to make an offer to pay what it considers just compensation.

But the property owner has the right to explore whether the government’s taking is truly for a public purpose and whether the offer really is “just.” An attorney, usually working with an appraiser, can negotiate and ultimately demand a hearing in court on the amount of just compensation. This ultimate compensation is often much higher than what the government or utility initially offers. The property owner has the right to have his or her case on valuation decided by a jury.

The amount of compensation awarded is tied to the value of the land at its “highest and best use,” which may be a use entirely different from what the owner has given to it as of the date of the condemnation. Often, property owners don’t even realize that the inherent value of their property is higher than what they consider the value of the use they have given to it. An attorney working with an appraiser may help the property to realize this value upon condemnation.

An eminent domain lawyer may work to help the property owner recover just compensation without requiring the owner to pay hourly fees, and will often work on contingency, sharing a percentage of the owner’s recovery that is gained as a result of the lawyer’s efforts.