H.B. 275

1

EMINENT DOMAIN REQUIREMENTS
2 2006 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: David Ure
5 Senate Sponsor: ____________
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill modifies provisions relating to the acquisition of property by eminent domain.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 . requires the court to award court costs and a reasonable attorney's fee to a property
13 owner if the court award of compensation and damages exceeds the plaintiff's
14 highest offer by more than ten percent; and
15 . makes technical changes.
16 Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
17 None
18 Other Special Clauses:
19 None
20 Utah Code Sections Affected:
21 AMENDS:
22 78-34-10, as last amended by Chapter 101, Laws of Utah 2004
23
24 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
25 Section 1. Section 78-34-10 is amended to read:
26 78-34-10. Compensation and damages -- How assessed -- Award of court costs
27 and attorney's fee in certain circumstances.

28 (1) The court, jury, or referee [must] shall hear [such] the legal evidence [as may be]
29 offered by [any of] the parties to the proceedings[, and thereupon must].
30 (2) (a) Based upon the evidence, the court, jury, or referee shall ascertain and assess:
31 [(1)] (i) subject to Subsection(2)(b), the value of the property sought to be condemned
32 [and], all improvements [thereon] on the property appertaining to the realty, and [of] each [and
33 every] separate estate or interest [therein; and if it consists of different parcels, the value of
34 each parcel and of each estate or interest therein shall be separately assessed] in the property;
35 [(2)] (ii) if the property sought to be condemned constitutes only a part of a larger
36 parcel, the damages [which] that will accrue to the portion not sought to be condemned [by
37 reason] because of its severance from the portion sought to be condemned and the construction
38 of the improvement in the manner proposed by the plaintiff;
39 [(3)] (iii) if the property, though no part [thereof] of it is taken, will be damaged by the
40 construction of the proposed improvement, the amount of [such] those damages;
41 [(4)] (iv) separately, how much the portion not sought to be condemned, and each
42 estate or interest [therein] in that portion, will be benefited, if at all, by the construction of the
43 improvement proposed by the plaintiff[. If the benefit shall be equal to the damages assessed
44 under Subdivision (2) of this section, the owner of the parcel shall be allowed no compensation
45 except the value of the portion taken; but if the benefit shall be less than the damages so
46 assessed, the former shall be deducted from the latter, and the remainder shall be the only
47 damages allowed in addition to the value of the portion taken], subject to Subsection (2)(c);
48 [(5)] (v) if the property sought to be condemned consists of water rights or part of a
49 water delivery system or both, and the taking will cause present or future damage to or
50 impairment of the water delivery system not being taken, including impairment of the system's
51 carrying capacity, an amount to compensate for the damage or impairment; and
52 [(6)] (vi) if land on which crops are growing at the time of service of summons is
53 sought to be condemned, the value that those crops would have had after being harvested,
54 taking into account the expenses that would have been incurred cultivating and harvesting the
55 crops[; and].
56 (b) If the property sought to be condemned consists of different parcels, the value of
57 each parcel and of each estate or interest in the parcel shall be assessed separately.
58 (c) (i) If the benefit assessed under Subsection (2)(a)(iv) is equal to the damages

59 assessed under Subsection (2)(a)(ii), no compensation may be allowed except the value of the
60 portion taken.
61 (ii) If the benefit assessed under Subsection (2)(a)(iv) is less than the damages assessed
62 under Subsection (2)(a)(ii), the amount of the benefit assessed shall be deducted from the
63 amount of damages assessed, and the difference shall be the only damages allowed under
64 Subsection (2)(a)(iv) in addition to the value of the portion taken.
65 [(7) as] (d) As far as practicable, compensation [must] shall be assessed for each
66 source of damages separately.
67 (3) If the total amount of compensation and damages awarded by the court exceeds the
68 plaintiff's highest offer made before the commencement of the eminent domain action by more
69 than ten percent, the court shall award the property owner the owner's court costs and
70 reasonable attorney's fee.




Legislative Review Note
as of 8-16-05 10:29 AM

Based on a limited legal review, this legislation has not been determined to have a high
probability of being held unconstitutional.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel