Real Estate & Property Law

Penn DOT's Difficulty in Purchasing

By Alan Ackerman

TribLive

"How much could I build for $105,000, if I wanted to duplicate this building? Probably not even the front wall," he said. "The concrete floor alone is worth about $20,000."

PennDOT has filed in Allegheny County Court to take over Lieberth's property, Woods said. Lieberth's attorney could not be reached for comment, but Kevin Hirsch, a professor of law at Duquesne University, said Lieberth could challenge the eminent domain claim either on the grounds that he would not be getting compensated fairly for his property or that the property wasn't being taken for public use.

Two other properties have been given a reprieve from demolition.

    
Owner, Bill Lieberth, has a difficult time in understanding how he can defend himself against the condemning authority attempting to widen Route 28, .  Reading the linked article, one senses that there is no connect between the value,  negotiation process and obtaining an appraisal.  
    
This article is illustrative of what occurs when owners simply find a lawyer who does not want to handle the case,and meeting with competent appraisers who understand the valuation process which apparently occurred here.  On the one hand, the article notes that an offer has been made, a site even to relocate residents cannot be found for the money offered.

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on April 05, 2010 (boomark / email).