Eminent Domain Basics

Important Information for Property Owners

Additional resources provided by the author

Contact us today. We can negotiate with the condemning entity and assist you in finding appraisers that will evaluate the impacts of the loss of property. If negotiations fail, Duerr Law is fully prepared to represent you before a Board of Viewers and, if necessary, through any appeals.

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Chris Duerr

Chris Duerr

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Should landowners be compensated for fracking ban?

DAMASCUS TOWNSHIP, WAYNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) – The issue of natural gas drilling has divided neighbors in the Poconos for years.

With the Delaware River Basin Commission poised to implement a permanent fracking ban in Wayne and Pike counties by the end of the year, one state senator wants to protect landowners rights. (more…)

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Residents Vow to Fight Scranton Beltway Project

SOUTH ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — People living in the Woodcrest Estates development in South Abington Township say they will fight the Scranton Beltway Project. (more…)

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Kline Township Supervisors are trying to acquire the land through eminent domain

KLINE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — There is a dispute over a playground and the land it is on in Schuylkill County.

The Kline Township Supervisors are trying to acquire the land through eminent domain so that they can upgrade the playground, but the owners of the property tell Newswatch 16 they feel the township is trying to unfairly take the land from them.

“I feel it is not right,” Joseph Wargo, who owns the property the playground is on, said. “It’s not warranted. They have other property. There’s not just cause.”

When Wargo bought the property 20 years ago, the playground was already on it. He said over the years the public was allowed to use it, even though much of the equipment is outdated. Now, he says the township is trying to take his land away from him using eminent domain.

“Our worries are next year are they going to take another 10 acres for a baseball field? The year after that, three acres for basketball? I mean, where will it end?” Wargo asked.

Kline Township Supervisor Carmen Cara said the township has offered Wargo $20,000, which they said is a fair market price.

“So what we wanted to do was upgrade the equipment,” Cara said. “For us to upgrade the equipment, if we were to go out and get a grant, we have to own the property. We can’t just go out and not have property and put state money or federal money into it.”

Cara said the supervisors have asked Wargo for years to donate or sell the property to the township. He said he and his fellow supervisors felt eminent domain is the only way they could get the land.

Since the issue has caused a lot of controversy in the township, Cara said the supervisors will hold a meeting to hear the concerns of its citizens.

“Have the people decide what they want to do,” Cara said. “Whether they want to keep the playground over there or not have a playground over there. We’ll decide that tomorrow at tomorrow’s meeting.”

The meeting will take place at the Kline Township building at 6 p.m. Wednesday evening. If the supervisors decide not to acquire the land, Wargo tells Newswatch 16 he will have to decide what to do with the playground equipment.


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Eminent Domain in Philadelphia

In Sharswood dozens of residents are being displaced through the use of eminent domain, clearing a path for the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s sweeping plans to transform the neighborhood. For our series Remaking Sharswood, reporter Ryan Briggs caught up with residents affected by eminent domain about their experiences and the road ahead.

(more…)

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Do you really need a will?

You May Not Think You Need a Will, But You Really Do.

Most Americans do not have a simple will as part of their estate plan. You might believe that a will is only for the rich and famous, and not the average person who has a far smaller net worth. On the other hand, you may think that a will is entirely unnecessary since you have a trust, jointly owned property, or have named beneficiaries on your insurance. (more…)

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Which life events that require an immediate estate plan update?

Estate planning is the process of developing a strategy for the care and management of your estate if you become incapacitated or upon your death. One commonly known purpose of estate planning is to minimize taxes and costs, including taxes imposed on gifts, estates, generation skipping transfer and probate court costs. However, your plan must also name someone who will make medical and financial decisions for you if you cannot make decisions for yourself.  You also need to consider how to leave your property and assets while considering your family’s circumstances and needs. (more…)

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Highest and Best Use, Mitigation?

Eminent domain practitioners are well versed in analyzing a property’s highest and best use. Under these principles, a property being condemned is not necessarily valued based on its current, existing use. Where the appraiser can show that the property’s actual value is based on a different use, that use can often be the foundation for the valuation (assuming that other use meets the four-part test of highest and best use, which is beyond the scope of this post; if you’re really bored today, here’s a link to Wikipedia’s discussion of highest and best use). (more…)

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Small Takings on Preserved Agricultural Land

Pa. development fight grows on ‘sliver’ of farmland
Updated: JANUARY 22, 2017 — 3:03 AM EST
by Michaelle Bond, Staff Writer @MichaelleBond

It is a mere “sliver” in the county that has the state’s richest harvest of farmland, more than 100,000 acres of which is off-limits to development.  But conservation activists say the future of land preservation in Pennsylvania hinges on the fate of a patch of Lancaster County farmland that is less than a third of an acre.  So-called sliver taking is a process in which small parcels of farms are seized by eminent domain to accommodate road projects. (more…)

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Americans Are Flipping Houses Like it’s 2006

Housing market investors have pushed the share of flips, or properties sold twice in 12 months, to its highest level in a decade.
by Patrick Clark
January 25, 2017, 12:01 AM EST (more…)

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