Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Should we settle or fight an imminent domain case?

3 acres taken for imminent domain.

property was bought about 15+ years ago to make a gas station. permits and plans made but due to recession and water shortage no gas station was built.

for highway expansion the land that would be taken cuts into the plans made for the gas station so the $300,000 spent would be lost.

Furthermore Caltrans is valuing the land as agriculture, not commercial so we are getting less than what we paid.

We want to settle its been 4 years but will it hurt us in the long run settling for agriculture value of the 3 acres. All the tax we paid on "commercial land" is that lost as well?


Asked on 2/19/17, 10:52 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

In Emminent Domain, what you have spend is irrelevant, and you don't get compensation for it. All you get is the reasonable value of the land. If the land is zoned commercial and you have been paying taxes on it at the commercial rate, they should be valuing it as commercial. Also, if they are taking part but not all of the parcel, you may have a case for more compensation if it reduces the value of the remaining land, but you will need a lawyer to prove that. An example is a case some years ago, where a road expansion took the parking lot of an apartment building. The owners were able to prove that by taking away the off-street parking, the rental value of their apartments dropped, dropping the value of the complex if they were to sell it, and they got additional compensation. Again, though, what you spent doesn't matter, only values of the land on the open market for land. Lastly, if you have been paying commercial rate taxes on ag zoned land, you should seek a refund from your tax officials.

Read more
Answered on 2/21/17, 8:41 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Real Estate and Real Property questions and answers in California