Eminent Domain (or condemnation) is a complex legal area that allows the government to seize your land for public uses, such as building or expanding a road or highway, without your consent. Fighting back against condemnation often requires the help of eminent domain lawyers that are ready, willing, and able to handle your Texas condemnation case.
Both the United States and Texas Constitutions require that the Government pay you a fair value for land they seize. However, the word “fair” is highly subjective — and is first determined by the government. The government has a team of appraisers, engineers, and attorneys that have been planning to seize your land for years.
With the lawyers at Potts Law Firm, you have the opportunity to defend your rights as a landowner and regain your peace of mind. Our attorneys have the experience and knowledge needed to help ensure that you receive fair compensation for your land and property. The sooner you talk to one of our experienced attorneys, the sooner we can help you in your condemnation fight.
Eminent Domain Abuses
Eminent domain abuse can begin harmlessly enough. Due to the aforementioned land scarcity, states may find themselves unenviable to juggle a public project that will cause the least private injury to property owners and the greatest public good.
How they appraise the property’s value is where things get tricky. How does one plan for the development’s economic growth and the impact that this will have on one’s property taxes and property security? This is where the experience of an eminent domain attorney comes to the fore.
As a property owner, you might feel content in an area your local council determines to be a “blighted” or run-down area. ‘Blight’ is a buzzword used to describe buildings deemed unsafe or unattractive in light of an urban generation project that you find yourself on the wrong side of. As politicians get kickbacks from private developers, eminent domain abuse occurs.
From the expansion of a private mall in Texas that saw 127 homeowners forced off their land to displaced farmers in Iowa to build the Dakota Access pipeline, examples of states riding roughshod over the interests of homeowners abound. If you’re aware of state plans to develop real estate that could negatively impact your livelihood, then an eminent domain attorney with the pedigree of Potts Law Firm will put your mind at ease.
Inverse Condemnation & Texas Condemnation
If a condemning authority such as a government entity acquires private property without an owner’s consent, this needs to be declared under eminent domain law. This allows the property owner to pursue just compensation by filing an inverse condemnation claim.
Inverse condemnation is thus a legal action brought against the government by a landowner to obtain just compensation for a taking of property affected, without a formal exercise of eminent domain.
Property rights are complicated. Take access rights on a servitude road as an example of a situation where a condemning authority may overlook your claims in an attempt to fast-track a housing development. Here, you’ll understand why the recourse to file an inverse condemnation claim is an important one.
Changing zoning ordinances that effectively restrict how a property owner can use their property is another common occurrence where one has cause to pursue an inverse condemnation claim.