Condemnation Award/ Condemnation Damages
What are condemnation damages? How is a condemnation award decided?
The condemnation damages are the amount of money you are awarded after your property is condemned for the power company's use. The amount is decided by a special master, during the special master hearing. These damages are also called condemnation awards. In most states, you don't pay income taxes on the amount of the condemnation damages you receive.
I don't want to agree to the amount the power company has initially offered. Can I get more money if I force them to go through a condemnation proceeding?
In our opinion, you are more likely to get a better deal during the negotiation stages. There are fewer attorney fees associated with these negotiations, and your time isn’t tied up in court. The power company is likely to make more concessions out of court. In the negotiation phase, the power company is focused on getting the easement quickly and will want to avoid going to a condemnation hearing. If they are forced to go to a condemnation hearing, their focus will be on reducing the compensation they pay in court.
Once the special master decides on the appropriate condemnation award, the money is held by the court and you have to request it. You do have the right to appeal, but this process is usually costly and time-consuming and you don’t get the funds. The condemnation damages that the special master decides upon can possibly be less than the amount the power company offered during the initial negotiations. But at this point in the process, you have little to no negotiation power left.
While the power company is obligated to prove "good faith negotiations" and "just and adequate compensation", the special master ultimately decides the appropriate damages. We can help you decide if the power company’s offer is fair, before you or your attorney has to step foot inside a courtroom. These initial negotiations before condemnation are extremely important. It is your opportunity to evaluate the likely value you would receive in a condemnation hearing and compare it to what they would agree to today. Our goal (a difficult one to meet) is to find an amount just one penny less than what would cause them to go to court and allow the special master to decide the appropriate amount of the condemnation award. We can help you decide whether it is worth it to go to a condemnation hearing or take a negotiated offer.
Please contact us for more details on how we can help you.