Eminent Domain is Happening to You| How Does it Work?

Eminent Domain Procedure is Composed of Specific Statutory Rules

Like many legal processes, Washington State eminent domain is a creature of statute. Even though the Constitutions of Washington and the United States allow property to be taken for public purposes if just compensation is paid, how it actually happens is controlled by statute. What this means is the Washington State Legislature, many many years ago, got together and decided what rules the State, cities, counties, and corporations must follow when taking property from its citizens.

As you will see from the summary of the statutes below, Washington State eminent domain law is not an easy area of the law. There are important decisions to make that can have a tremendous impact on the money you get for your property. Failing to meet a deadline or notify the Court of a decision can have negatively affect your award of just compensation. So even though the information below should be very helpful and provide some background information on the eminent domain process, you should seriously consider hiring an Washington State eminent domain lawyer to represent you.

Your First Contact is Likely to be at a Public Meeting

Although it may seem like the deck is stacked against you as a citizen in this matter (in the end your property is going to be taken), one great piece of leverage you as a property owner has is your Washington State citizenship. Whether you believe it or not, the people making the decisions are trying to do what is best for the people of Washington, and in the end, the final decision makers are politicians, or elected officials. This means that at all times state, city and county governments must remember that they are working with their electorate, and if they want to get re-elected next term, they should probably treat you with respect.

Because of this power, most governmental entities proactively work to keep the public, and in particular those property owners that are expected to impacted by a project requiring eminent domain, aware of what is going on with the project. The condemning authority will also solicit input from property owners to make sure they haven't missed any critical information that could negatively affect the project.

If you receive notice of a pending project that may affect your property,
go to the meeting. At the meeting the proposed project will be outlined, probably over the properties impacted, and the condemning authority will describe and discuss the project and provide an anticipated timeline. If you go these meetings and see that your property is going to be impacted (and even if it is not) do not be afraid to ask questions, even tough questions, to the condemning officials. The purpose of the meeting is to answer these questions.

The sooner you contact a lawyer experienced in Washington State eminent domain law when you first find out that your property is being taken by eminent domain, the better. The attorney may be able to save your property, if the circumstances warrant. And if your property cannot be saved, an eminent domain lawyer can make sure the property is evaluated correctly the first time by the condemning authority, saving you, the property owner, time and money.

After Public Meetings Comes the Notice of Eminent Domain and the Appraisal

Although no condemning authority acts in precisely the same way at this point, and time constraints can force a deviation from standard operating procedure, generally the next step in the process is a notice that in fact your property will be taken by eminent domain and a request to allow an appraiser to meet with you to evaluate your property to determine fair market value and just compensation.

First and foremost, meet with the government's appraiser. Give them information you think is important to valuing the property. Allow them to come onto the property and view it. Absent very special circumstances, the condemning authority will be able to take your property for their project. If they are going to do that, you might as well get as much money as you can for as little time and expense as possible. And without your cooperation, an appraiser will probably not be able to adequately evaluate your property, they will probably come up with a low determination of just compensation, and you will be angry. Help them help you by providing pertinent information. Again, an eminent domain attorney can greatly assist in this process.

Second, keep in communication with the condemning authority. As I stated before, their goal (in most cases) is to get your property by paying just compensation, nothing more, nothing less. Help them do that by speaking with them.

When Appraisal is Complete an Offer Letter is Issued and Negotiations Begin

I'll give you the short and sweet version of this now, but once the appraisal is complete an offer letter will be drafted and presented to you. When you get the offer the important thing to remember is this is a starting point for negotiating the price of your property. The condemning authority is flexible on what they will pay. It simply needs to be justified.

At this time, if they will give it to you, get a copy of the appraisal and look at it to see how they formulated their opinion of just compensation. Most of the time the basis will be similar properties bought and sold in the area. If it is, that is great. If you can find better comparable sales for your property and point out other flaws in the appraisal you can get more money for your property taken through eminent domain.

But to do this you need an eminent domain expert. Someone versed in both Washington State property appraisal and eminent domain. An experienced eminent domain lawyer should be able to do this for you. Although lawyers can be intimidating, don't be afraid to call one. They really can help.

In the next post I'll discuss what happens if no agreement of the fair market value of the property taken can be reached.