Valuation Procedure for Condemnation: A Fifty State Survey

The Fifth Amendment requires statutorily authorized condemnors to provide just compensation to landowners for all takings. The procedural method used by states to determine just compensation varies widely among states and is often separate from the more standard procedures existing in traditional civil litigation. Regardless of their method, all fifty states and the District of Columbia each have their own unique procedure for determining just compensation. This Note distinctly classifies the procedural schemes currently used by states to initially value just compensation of condemned property into three general categories: (1) schemes that rely on commissioners to determine just compensation, (2) schemes that empower judges to valuate property, and (3) other schemes that are unique to only a few states. This Note also compares and contrasts the efficiency and justness of methods used in different states to initially determine what constitutes just compensation. Perhaps most importantly, this Note provides a series of graphics in the Appendix that will help both academics and practitioners understand state-to-state differences in procedurally determining just compensation.