Quiz Answers

Coping With Condemnation:
What Rights Do Texans Have?
By Judon Fambrough

1. False. Condemnation in Texas is divided into three stages. The first stage requires the condemnor to make an offer to purchase the property. The next step entails a judicial hearing before the special commissioners, then a judicial appeal. Before July 2, 2004, the first stage required a condemnor to make a bona fide attempt to purchase the property. That is no longer the case.
2. True. The location of an easement is left to the discretion of the condemnor. The location chosen by the condemnor is final without proving bad faith, fraud or an arbitrary or capricious decision.
3. False. When only a part of a person's land is condemned, the amount due the owner is the fair market value of the land taken plus special damages less special benefits to the remaining property.
4. True. This was the recent holding when Hurst, Texas, condemned land to expand the North East Mall. The justification (public benefit) was an estimated $11 million increase in sales tax revenue. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled this meets the public-benefit test.
5. False. Landowners can represent themselves at the special commissioners' hearing. They need not hire an attorney but probably need to hire an appraiser. The Texas Rules of Civil Procedure do not apply.
6. True. The condemnor may take possession by posting the required surety with the courts after the special commissioners post the award.
7. False. The condemnor can enter to survey when it first proposes to take the land. It need not wait until the special commissioners post the award.
8. False. The market value of the land being condemned is not limited to the value of the land in its current use. Texas law permits the consideration of the highest and best use to which the land can reasonably be adapted.
9. True. The only issue that the law requires the parties to address during the negotiation phase (stage 1) and the hearing before the special commissioners (stage 2) is the fair market value of the land being condemned. Only when the matter is appealed to the courts after the special commissioners' hearing can the issue of public use and public necessity be addressed.
10. False. Only in rare situations can the landowner recover attorney fees. Convincing the court that the land is worth more than the initial offer is not one of them.