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Condemnation
We have represented many property owners in the difficult and complex business of defending an eminent domain action by government. We have developed unique approaches and solutions that have resulted in outstanding results for our clients.
ELM lawyers who practice condemnation law:
Representative matters:
- Our client owned and operated a large private school close to a major international airport. The school became the subject of an eminent domain taking by the airport authority. The condemning agency offered $6.5 million for the property. We devised a unique strategic approach to the negotiations, and persuaded the agency to finance the purchase of a replacement property for the school, and the construction of a new school conforming with current code requirements, with equivalent square footage on the replacement site. Any upgrades in the new school beyond what was required by code would be at the schoolâs own expense. This approach resulted in a settlement valued in excess of $11.3 million, without a lawsuit ever being filed. Both sides "won." The agency obtained the property without having to engage in extremely costly legal proceedings, and the client ended up with a brand new school in a new location.
- Our client owned a parking lot on one of the few remaining undeveloped blocks near the core of downtown Seattle. A State agency needed the entire block in order to expand its downtown operations. The amount offered to purchase the parcel from our client seemed well below the potential of the property if sold on the open market. When our client declined to sell, the State took his property along with the rest of the block using the power of eminent domain. The State refused to pay any greater amount for the property than the price originally offered, which was a price determined by the State's appraisers. In the past, we had successfully litigated against the State, demonstrating that the agency and its appraisers were well below market value on other properties where we had represented the owners against the same agency. In this matter, we brought our unique trial experience along with our relationships with other appraisers around the country to combine with the skills of other firms representing other owners from the same city block. The result of the ensuing trial was that the jury agreed that the property values argued by the State were only half of the actual values of the property. Consequently, the jury returned the largest condemnation verdict in the history of the State in favor of our client and other property owners.
- Our client owned a beautiful penthouse in the heart of downtown Seattle. A government agency used the power of eminent domain to take the building on which the penthouse was situated because the agency needed the underlying land for a public project. State law required the agency to not only pay for the home prior to taking it, but also required the government to find a comparable replacement for our client and his family. State law also required that the agency pay for any difference in price between the payment provided for the penthouse and the cost of a reasonably comparable replacement. Finding a residence comparable to one that our client owned was a formidable task. At the time of the government taking, there were other lovely penthouses on the market in downtown Seattle. But all of them were significantly more expensive than the amount the agency paid for the home of our client. As a result, the agency attempted to provide a substitute house that was very different than what our client had; it was miles away from the downtown area and 25% smaller than our client's former home. In a trial before an Administrative Law Judge, we obtained a judgment large enough to allow our client to replace his former penthouse with a newly constructed penthouse just 3 blocks from the old location.
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