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News From 91.3 KUWS
New eminent domain law would cap legal fees to land owners
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Story posted Friday at 4:09 p.m. 3/6/2009 |
A proposed law in the Governor’s budget would change the way landowners fight condemnation of their property. Mike Simonson reports from Superior.~~
Opponents say it’s a sneak attack to handcuff property owners who challenge the price they’re offered for their land.
Tom Kreager lead the group “Save Our Unique Lands” during its opposition to a power line being built between Duluth and Wausau. He says this law, which would cap legal fees to landowners, would have given a great advantage to American Transmission Company taking private land with low-ball offers.
“It would have forced landowners to take the initial offer. Just the opposite did occur with the ATC wanted to build where many landowners forced condemnation because what they were offered was just pennies on the dollar for what they should have received.”
This law is being pushed by the Department of Transportation. Assistant General Counsel Paul Nilsen says the cost of awarding legal fees has more than doubled in the past five years, costs paid by taxpayers.
“It’s not the amount of money that concerns us. What we’re perceiving though is that there is abuse by a cottage industry of litigators. We believe landowners are being told not to negotiate with us and deprive us of information so that we cannot properly assess the value of their property.”
The bill has to go through the Joint Finance Committee where state Representative Gary Sherman serves. The Port Wing Democrat and attorney says he won’t say he’ll vote against it, he says capping legal fees caps a person’s right to get a fair price for their property.
“We have to fight against that tendency and make sure that people who under our constitution are entitled to be represented don’t have roadblocks placed in the way of that representation which makes it practically impossible because than you lose your constitutional right even though it might exist on paper.”
The law would affect all eminent domain cases in the state.
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