Eminent Domain and Inverse Condemnation

Our firm has extensive experience in all aspects of eminent domain and inverse condemnation law. We represent private and public clients at both the trial court and appellate court levels. The condemnation actions we have handled involve different types of real property (e.g. commercial, industrial, residential, right-of-way and special use) and various property interests (e.g. fee simple, leasehold, easement and signage rights). As a result, we have developed an expertise in all types of compensation claims that arise in eminent domain cases, including valuation of real property interests, severance damages, loss of business goodwill, improvements pertaining to the realty, precondemnation (Klopping) damages, business inventory and relocation benefits. Clients often retain us early in the acquisition process to assist in planning and budgeting of proposed projects, negotiating property acquisitions, and assisting in compliance with the many statutory requirements that a public agency must satisfy prior to filing a condemnation lawsuit (e.g. California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance, precondemnation appraisal and offer to purchase, and the procedures for adoption of a Resolution of Necessity).

Among the public agencies we have represented in eminent domain and/or inverse condemnation actions are: the cities and redevelopment agencies of Los Angeles, San Dimas, Cerritos, Monterey Park, La Canada Flintridge, Bell Gardens, Oxnard and La Mirada; school districts in Los Angeles, Paramount and Chino; the County of San Luis Obispo; and the Los Angeles to Pasadena Metropolitan Blue Line Authority. We have represented numerous property owners ensuring that their rights are protected, including just compensation for all property interests being acquired. Representative property owner clients range from large corporations such as Lockheed Martin Corporation and Union Pacific Railroad Company, to small businesses and homeowners. We have also represented private developers of projects within designated redevelopment areas in the cities of Los Angeles, Lake Forest, West Hollywood and Whittier to assist in the budget, timeline and oversight of land acquisition for their projects.

The firm's representation of public agencies has included the successful defense against a wide variety of right to take challenges asserted by property owners in direct condemnation actions, as well as the defeat of inverse condemnation claims. We have also developed an expertise in valuation and remediation issues of properties with soil and/or groundwater contamination. We have pursued the use of recently enacted statutes that permit redevelopment agencies to recover remediation costs from responsible parties and obtain a regulatory agency site release that permits the transfer of the affected property to developers for redevelopment.

The expertise we have developed while litigating valuation issues in condemnation actions is readily transferable to other types of disputes concerning the value of real property. For example, we have represented clients in their disputes with a tenant or easement holder of a "special use" property that is subject to a long-term lease with periodic rent adjustments. These clients have included both public entities (e.g. City of San Diego in its dispute over fair market rent for SeaWorld) and private corporations (e.g. Union Pacific in its dispute over fair market rent for pipeline easements within railroad corridor land).