Eminent Domain And The Court Of Law

By Author: Alejandro Padua
Total Articles: 82
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The constitution of the United States believes that every property privately owned by individuals first belonged to the Government. With respect to this train of thought the Government believes that it has the right to buy back the same property from an individual at a fair price if they believe that the property needs to be used for public use. Some such instances where the Government has felt the need to buy property belonging to individuals is when a highway needs to be widened or a public community park needs to be erected in particular locality. In such cases, if the owner is not satisfied with the deal, he can get help from a Houston Eminent Domain Lawyer.

Eminent Domain
What exactly is eminent domain? Eminent Domain is property owned by a private individual which is needed by the Government for public use. When such instances arise the Government makes use of the eminent power granted to it by the constitution of United States to claim the property from an individual. In return for the property it is the responsibility of the Government to offer just compensation to the property owner.

Condemnation
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... All Government bodies, local, state level and national have the right to use eminent power. Condemnation is technically the use of eminent power by a Government body. Whenever a Government body is interested in a private property for public use it initiates a formal proceeding. This process of formalizing the acquisition of a private property is called Condemnation.

What are the next steps after condemnation?
In a typical scenario, the Government appoints a ‘buyer’ and invests him with the authority to offer a just compensation to the individual in return for his property. The just compensation is calculated basis the current market of value of the property in question. The buyer then contacts the property owner and offers him the compensation on behalf of the Government. The property owner at this point has the right to accept or refuse the compensation. If the property owner agrees with the compensation offered the property is acquired by the Government for the declared public use. However if the property owned is dissatisfied with the compensation offered he can refuse it and the matter will then be decided by a court of law. A property owner can try to negotiate with the buyer, but in most cases the negotiations do not work out. In such cases, an experienced Houston Eminent Domain Lawyer can prove to a great help.

Eminent Domain and the Court of Law
If the property owner is not convinced that the compensation he is receiving is just the Government will file a suit in a relevant court of law. The Government will still get the property in question but it has to deposit the just compensation with the court of law. The property owner can then file a petition to access the compensation amount and further contest it.

When a property owner files for a motion to access the funds deposited with the court of law he has to basically agree that if the court ruling is not in his favor and it is decided that he has been overpaid for his property he will have to pay the balance to the court. Likewise, if the ruling is in his favor the Government body will pay the court the balance amount and the court can then issue an order to allow the property owner to access it.

A property owner can contest eminent domain compensation on his own as well. However, enrolling the expertise of a Houston Eminent Domain Lawyer increase his chances of presenting a well substantiated argument for increase in compensation amount.

Author:
Alejandro Padua practices as a Houston eminent domain lawyer in Texas.

For quick assistance on Texas eminent domain law or residential, construction, commercial and landlord laws transaction or documentation, Call real estate attorney Houston at (713) 840-1411 for Free Consultation.