What is condemnation and the power of eminent domain?
• Condemnation is the governmental power to take private property for a public purpose. It is also known as the power of Eminent Domain. This power comes from the United States Constitution and individual state constitutions.


Who may condemn property?
• Governmental bodies may condemn property. These bodies include federal, state and local governmental agencies. These governmental agencies may also delegate the power of eminent domain to public utilities such as Nevada Power.


What justification must the government have for taking my property?
• The government may only condemn property for a public purpose.


Do I have to accept the government’s purchase offer to take my property?
• No. You can decline the offer and still not risk losing that money. Before the government can occupy your property, it must deposit that money with the Clerk of Court at the courthouse and we will then immediately withdraw that money for you. This withdrawal does not waive your right to contest how much more you should be paid for your property at trial.


The government is only taking a portion of my property, what should I do?
• Never, ever settle a partial taking case. If you do so before the government project is completed, the construction plans could change which could impact your property and you will have no recourse to seek damages caused by the changed plans because you already settled your case.

• Any time only a portion of your property is taken you may have “severance” damages which accrue to the property the government does not take. You may be compensated for this, too. We go after every penny you are entitled to!


What should I do before my property is condemned?
• Do not protest your property tax assessments. Doing so argues that your property is worth less than assessed value (which does not reflect full fair market value). The government can use this against you when you later argue your property is worth more than the government wants to pay you for your land.

• Do not list your property for sale. This is another admission of value the government could use against you at trial. Even if you think the price at which you listed your property is high, we may find that, based upon its highest and best use, your listing price is low and you should be paid much more for your property.

• Do not seek to develop or redevelop your property without consulting with us. The government project for which your land is being taken could effect your development applications and your approval for development- which could effect our argument of just compensation based upon the highest and best use of your property.

• Do not sign a tenant to a new lease term without having us insert a “condemnation clause” in your lease. This will prevent your tenant from being able to make a claim to some of your just compensation proceeds won at trial or through settlement prior to trial.


How is my property valued in an eminent domain proceeding?
• You are entitled to be paid “just compensation” for the taking of your property.

• Just compensation has been determined by the United States and Nevada Supreme Courts to mean that amount of just compensation which puts you in as good a position you would have been in had your property not been taken.

• Just compensation is the value of your property based upon it's highest and best use.

• A property’s highest and best use is not necessarily the use to which a property is put at the time it is taken by the government. Rather, we look at land use plans, and zoning designations and other indicators of value and their probability to change in your favor to find the most valuable use of your property. That use is what we base your case for full just compensation on and we expand on it through testimony of expert witnesses.

• Nevada law provides that you be paid the "highest price" for the "highest and best use" of your property.


Am I entitled to interest on my just compensation award and, if so, how is it determined?
• Interest is determined by statute which, in most cases, calls for you to get the prime rate of the largest commercial bank, plus an additional two percent, annually, for each year that the government has frozen your property.

• The government effectively freezes your property when it goes from the “planning” phase of a project for which your property will be taken to the “acquiring” phase.

• Interest runs from the time the property is frozen until the time your are awarded just compensation.


Do I pay taxes on my just compensation award?
• You have three calendar years to reinvest your eminent domain award in “like kind” property and avoid paying taxes on the money. We will give you helpful paperwork to take to your accountant so that you may consult with him or her and determine your best reporting avenue.

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