CONDEMNATION & EMINENT DOMAIN
Condemnation occurs when the government—whether state, federal, or local—takes your property for a public purpose.
Property rights are among the most important of individual rights, and our firm’s practice is uniquely dedicated to their protection. When the government attempts to condemn your land, we know what to do to protect your interests. You need an experienced attorney in these circumstances, someone that knows how to stop the government from running roughshod over your property. The government has the resources to fight hard—you need an attorney capable of doing the same.
There are many types of condemnation, such as:
i. Eminent domain. It is true that the government has the authority under the federal and state constitutions to take your property for a public use. That does not, however, give the government the right to take your property for any reason it wants and to pay too little while doing so. We have experience forcing the government to pay full value for your condemned property, and we also know how to force the government to demonstrate that it is exercising its authority in a constitutionally permissible manner.
ii. Inverse condemnation. When the government interferes with your property by, for example, contaminating it, yet the government has not offered to reasonably compensate you for the interference, it is known as inverse condemnation. We have handled many of these cases. We know that they are challenging, but we also know how to succeed.
iii. Regulatory taking. Sometimes the government will pass laws that burden your property so greatly that your property becomes nearly valueless. For example, imagine you own a home that the government regulates into a commercial zone, yet the government will not provide a variance. In such circumstances, the government, we believe, has taken your property. We can fight the regulation on your behalf, and, if the regulation is upheld, we will fight to force the government to pay for your taken property.
For more information please call (919) 754-1600 or email us.