Acquisition of Properties by Eminent Domain

Represented a municipal housing authority in southern Connecticut in using eminent domain to acquire property that was planned to be redeveloped into a mixed income, mixed use development as part of a health and wellness district.  After unsuccessful attempts to negotiate a purchase of two properties in the redevelopment area, the firm guided the housing authority through all of the legal steps necessary to acquire them by eminent domain.  This effort included the firm’s oversight of multiple experts to determine the fair market value of the properties after accounting for the cost of required environmental remediation.  After the housing authority took title to the properties, the owners of one of the properties appealed the amount of compensation, challenging both the fair market value of the property as well as the cost for environmental remediation.  The parties engaged in significant discovery and motions practice, and on the eve of trial scheduled for May 2016, the firm helped the housing authority to successfully negotiate a settlement of the matter.