Florida Eminent Domain Topics

Under Florida eminent domain law, it is constitutionally mandated that property owners’ attorneys are paid reasonable fees by the condemning authority (e.g., the governmental entity or utility company taking the property at issue).  This constitutional protection does...

One reason some Florida property owners are hesitant to hire a lawyer is that they worry it will cause them to end up in the courtroom.  These property owners fear that hiring an attorney will cause a near-certain trial, which will cause a significant disruption in...

The vast majority of Florida businesses use private property to conduct their commercial enterprises.  For many of these businesses, road frontage and high traffic count are critically important to the businesses’ success.  Fast food and petroleum marketer businesses,...

Under the Florida Constitution, a condemning authority (e.g., a governmental entity, like the Florida Department of Transportation) must pay “full compensation” to a property owner when forcibly acquiring property via eminent domain.  See Art. X, §6(a), Fla. Const. In...

Florida law has long recognized that eminent domain is a harsh proceeding.  In eminent domain proceedings, private property owners – through no fault of their own – will have their land taken from them.  Private property owners typically have no choice in the matter. ...

There are three phases to every Florida road project: (1) design; (2) right of way acquisition; and (3) road construction.  These three phases usually occur in the same order.  The government usually first hire engineers to design the project and determine what right...

Thousands of Florida property owners face the same dilemma every year.  A condemning authority (e.g., a government or utility company) seeks to acquire some – but not all – of a property owner’s land.  To do so, the condemning authority makes a monetary offer to the...

There are two methods by which property interests can be condemned in a Florida eminent domain proceeding.  The first type of proceeding is the rarely utilized “slow take” proceeding.  In a “slow take” proceeding, before title to the property at issue is transferred,...