11 thoughts on “June 20, 2024: But Once A Year”

      1. In certain circumstances, landowners are entitled to receive an award if reasonable attorney fees when their land is acquired through eminent domain.

        In this case, the landowner owed is attorney $16,333.33 pursuant to his retainer agreement. MnDOT (my client) offered to pay that full amount. The landowner rejected the offer, and instead demanded almost $180,000 in attorney fees. The district court awarded the landowner $63,228 (by calculating a reasonable hourly rate with a reasonable number of hours).

        MnDOT appealed arguing an award that exceeds the landowner's fee obligation is unreasonable. The Minnesota Supreme Court today held that any awards are not capped by the fee agreement. Notably, they said that if the legislature wants any award to be capped at full reimbursement, then the legislature should more explicitly say so.

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