Eminent Domain
When the government tries to save money at the expense of your property rights and your pocketbook—protecting yourself with experienced, proven representation is the best move you can make.
For an explanation of the law of Eminent Domain, see Eminent Domain Explained.
Experienced, Focused, and Dedicated Representation in California
At Jenny & Jenny, LLP , our lawyers have been successfully protecting the property rights of individuals, families, and businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the state of California for more than a decade. The services we offer in these matters range from engaging in negotiation and mediation with regard to the government’s fair market value appraisal, to challenging those appraisals, or even the government’s ‘legitimate’ reasons for taking the property, in court.
Eminent Domain Law in California
When state, county, and municipal governments in California have a legitimate reason, they can exercise their right to invoke eminent domain in order to take property, at fair market value, from private landowners. Legitimate reasons for the use of eminent domain can vary widely but, in general, must include an element of ‘public use’ and a need for the specific land in question.
Road improvements, redevelopment, public buildings, BART tracks, freeway construction, flood control projects, schools, preventing “blight,” and even the need for privately operated prisons are all examples that have been deemed legitimate public uses. However, there have been occasions in which the government’s ‘legitimate’ reasons in an eminent domain case were merely a pretext to increase their own tax base or to benefit a private developer.
Our attorneys combine our skills with those of appraisers, engineers, real estate agents, environmental consultants, and others to make a detailed analysis of the government’s initial offer to you and to conduct a thorough investigation of their version of the facts. In many cases, we have been able to establish a much higher fair market value for private property than what the government initially offered.
For more detailed information about eminent domain and California law , please visit the Eminent Domain Explained section of this Web site.