Eminent Domain

Eminent Domain
question

Eminent Domain: The County is trying to take some of my property by Eminent Domain. We had the Eminent Domain hearing. The 3 Commissioners awarded me over 3 times what the county had offered. The county appealed and has filed suit against me. I denied their charges. Where can I find info on filing Motions, etc on X County Court Procedure?

answer

Eminent domain, when a government body seeks to take ownership of your real estate (house, farm, other real property, improvements, etc.) for public purpose, is a complex and evolving area of the law. While there are many legal matters you can practically address to some degree on your own, an appeal by the county as you describe is not really one of them. You really should hire a competent local attorney that has specific experience in eminent domain proceedings, not just a real estate attorney who has handled house closings. You might be best finding such a specialist by recommendation from your title company (the company that wrote the title insurance policy on the property involved). The general counsel (lead attorney) for most title companies is usually very knowledgeable in real estate law and likely to be the best person to make a referral for you. You should also be extremely cautious in that there are strict deadlines and procedural rules in the litigation you're involved in and you want a specialist making sure you don't loose out on a technicality. All that being said, there are things you can do to educate yourself on the issues and protect your interests. Review the details of how the different values were determined, research (Internet, local library) details, cases and other matters that may provide insight to support the award you were given. Look into the validity and rationale of why the county is endeavoring to exercise eminent domain. Talk to neighbors or others who may have been subject to similar proceedings to see how they fared (they may be nervous about talking to your lawyer). Report all of your findings to your lawyer and monitor the progress of your case.

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