First Posting

This is the posting for the new minimum compensation blog. The purpose of this blog will be to analyze trends, developments and case law, from a pro-property owners perspective, on the new process for how to calculate the damages suffered by property owners that are having their property taken by governmental entities in the State of Minnesota.

For those of you that are not aware of the phrase "minimum compensation", here is a bit of background on that new way to calculate damages in an eminent domain proceeding.

As part of the Eminent Domain Reform Bill passed by the Minnesota legislature in 2006, the legislature adopted a new statute, which addressed a new way to calculate the damages for owners that are having their property acquired by the government.

That new statute, Minnesota Statute § 117.187, states that:

"When an owner must relocate, the amount of damages payable, at a minimum, must be sufficient for an owner to purchase a comparable property in the community and not less than the condemning authority's payment or deposit under section 117.042, to the extent that the damages will not be duplicated in the compensation otherwise awarded to the owner of the property. For the purposes of this section, 'owner' is defined as the person or entity that holds fee title to the property."

Based upon this statute, in Minnesota, property owners that must relocate are now paid the higher amount of:

1. The appraised fair market value for their property; or
2. The cost to purchase a comparable property located in their community.

It appears that the legislative intent in adopting this new statute was to compensate eligible property owners with a sufficient amount of money so they are able to purchase a reasonable replacement property. In the past the actual cost a property owner might pay to replace their property was not a factor. However, this new statute will assist property owners in acquiring replacement properties without being in a worse position than they were prior to the taking.