Eminent domain: basic points all property owners should know.Michigan's Constitution permits many governmental agencies to take property by power of eminent domain eminent domain, the right of a government to force the owner of private property sell it if it is needed for a public use. The right is based on the doctrine that a sovereign state has dominion over all lands and buildings within its borders, which has its origins in , without the owner's consent, for public use. This process is also known as "condemnation." When this occurs, the property owner is entitled to receive "just compensation" for the taking. Here are some fundamental legal issues you should know as a property owner. Public use The federal government, the state of Michigan, municipalities, road and drain commissions and other governmental agencies all have the power of eminent domain. Government may not, however, employ eminent domain for primarily private use. In recent cases, for example, condemned landowners successfully sued to block an attempted taking for an "industrial spur" driveway, on grounds that private third parties, rather than the public, stood to primarily benefit from the project. Other attempted takings also have been successfully challenged, based on lack of good faith in governmental offers of just compensation, lack of jurisdiction and lack of necessity for condemnation. Recently, in a far-reaching opinion, the Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices, who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot. held that a governmental agency may not utilize eminent domain for the purpose of conveying taken property to a private third party for economic development. Ultimately, questions of public use and public necessity are highly fact-driven. All real estate developers and property owners are encouraged to coordinate with experienced condemnation counsel prior to asserting such constitutional challenges. Just compensation In the vast majority of condemnation actions condemnation action n. a lawsuit brought by a public agency to acquire private property for public purposes (schools, highways, parks, hospitals, redevelopment, civic buildings, for example), and a determination of the value to be paid. , the primary issue is the amount of just compensation to which the property owner is entitled. Under Michigan law, upon filing a condemnation action the governmental agency is required to tender a check equal to the agency's own good faith estimate of just compensation. The property owner is then entitled to accept those funds and proceed to seek additional just compensation for the acquisition. For purposes of estimating the value of the land physically taken, just compensation is often based on the property's "market value," which is equal to the amount that a willing, knowledgeable and informed purchaser would pay to an equally knowledgeable and informed seller on a particular date, known as the "date of taking." However, many condemnation actions are not limited to questions of land value alone. For example, Michigan condemnation law permits recovery for damages incurred to avoid business interruption, damages for going out of business as a result of a taking and damages to property remaining after a partial taking. Professional analysis of such issues will ultimately make the difference between receiving true just compensation and merely the amount that the government wishes to pay for its taking. In a recent landmark case landmark case Law & medicine A civil or, far less commonly, criminal action that has had an impact on a particular area of medicine. , a municipality MUNICIPALITY. The body of officers, taken collectively, belonging to a city, who are appointed to manage its affairs and defend its interests. offered $13.7 million for a 6.3-acre tract of riverfront riv·er·front n. The land or property along a river. property. A jury, however, returned a verdict for $25 million, the largest eminent domain jury verdict rendered in Michigan's history. The field of eminent domain, or condemnation, is complicated and technical, requiring coordination among the property owner, expert witnesses and experienced condemnation counsel. Jerome P. Pesick and H. Adam Cohen Adam Cohen is an American journalist and assistant editorial page editor of The New York Times. Cohen is a lawyer and author, with a particular interest in legal issues, politics and technology. are shareholders with Steinhardt Pesick & Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. PC in Southfield, a member of the Detroit Regional Chamber. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Detroiter Online Visit the Detroiter Online at www.detroitchamber.com/detroiter for these additional articles: Marketing -- Volunteerism and community participation as a business strategy, by Janine M. Krasicky, J9 Media Solutions Human Resources The fancy word for "people." 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