When land is taken or damaged by the government without filing a suit, this is known as “inverse condemnation.” To file for compensation for inverse condemnation by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), the North Carolina Department of Administration (NCDOA), or other local authorities, the property owner must generally file a lawsuit within 24 months of the land being taken or damaged. However, there are exceptions to this rule that an attorney must analyze in some cases.
Why Hire Henson Fuerst to Handle Your Inverse Condemnation Case
The attorneys at Henson Fuerst have extensive experience with filing Inverse Condemnation actions. From 2014-2021, our attorneys represented more than 100 property owners across the state, who were impacted by the I-540 Southern Wake Expressway (Wake County), the Hampstead Bypass (Pender and New Hanover Counties), the Greenville Bypass (Pitt County), and the Shelby Bypass (Cleveland County) projects.
The Transportation Corridor Official Map Act allowed the state to map large land areas around municipalities where the DOT might someday want to build a bypass. Unfortunately, that Act specifically prohibited landowners from improving or building on properties within these areas, which severely depressed land values within those corridors and left landowners with no marketable options for their property. Further, property owners could not obtain building permits, renovate businesses or homes, subdivide, or otherwise develop their land. Additionally, the Act provided no limitations on how long the Department of Transportation could hold the lands in limbo. As a result, many property owners suffered under these maps for decades. To date, the firm has obtained over $47,000,000 on behalf of property owners harmed by the Map Act.
Other examples include recent litigation filed by Henson Fuerst attorneys for flooding caused by a Department of Transportation roadway project. That litigation focused on the cause of the significant flooding created by the faulty roadway design and the resulting damages to the land and substantial improvements on the property.
Land Condemnation Attorneys Committed to Protecting The Rights and Interests of Property Owners
Landowners often aren’t familiar with inverse condemnation until their land is directly impacted by eminent domain. In these instances, an experienced eminent domain lawyer can significantly improve your chances of recovering just compensation for your property.
Contact the team of land condemnation attorneys at Henson Fuerst by filling out a form on our website or calling our main office at 919-781-1107 today.