18ish States Award Attorney Fees to Land Owners

What’s happening? As eminent domain percolates in Kentucky, its media is picking up on what states do or do not do to compensate their landowners. Here’s what they say:

• Florida is best- attorney fees can be awarded and allows people to hire lawyers before the state appraises the property it plans to take and offers a settlement
• Virginia allows attorney fees if if the final settlement is at least 25% more than the government’s original offer
• Washington allows for attorney fess + $750 is paid to landowners before a settlement is reached so they can hire their own appraisers 
• In Kentucky a single holdout juror can force a much lower settlement than the jury would otherwise award. Its the only time in Kentucky when unanimous jurors are necessary in a civil case in Kentucky

Why is this important? Maybe its residual civil justice issues from the pandemic, Black Lives Matter, and the general greater import to civil justice since 2020. Eminent Domain has long been considered unfair to land owners

How will this be important? States will continue to grapple with how to fairly compensate land owners, especially as the process is more transparent and low offers and bad actors are revealed

Courier Journal | Kentucky law favors the state in property rights cases