At Sever Walker Padgitt, our mission is to hold condemners, whether they be local, state, federal, utility, or other, accountable to the landowners whose land they are acquiring. Our entire firm is built around serving you, the landowner who is facing eminent domain and condemnation.

If you are subject to a proposed eminent domain acquisition in Kentucky, please contact our eminent domain lawyers immediately to discuss how we can help you make the most of a difficult situation.

Your condemnation issue is important to us. Please complete the form below or contact us directly with your questions.

What Is Eminent Domain Law In Kentucky?

Under Kentucky eminent domain law, the government may exercise the right to take private land for public use. This term can sometimes be used interchangeably with “condemnation,” but eminent domain is only in reference to the right to act, while condemnation is the procedure by which eminent domain is exercised.

The government may use eminent domain to take land for the building of interstates, highways, schools, public parks, government research centers, and many other “public use” purposes.

Learn More About Landowner Rights

The government may seem to have the upper hand in this situation, but landowners have rights, too. Knowing those rights will give landowners more confidence to stand up to the government, but it can still be difficult to go up against such large organizations without help. The right eminent domain lawyer can help educate a landowner on their right to just compensation, how to negotiate with the government, and the legal process.

Landowners who receive notice that their land is to be acquired by eminent domain often feel blindsided by the news. Yet the government may have spent years researching and planning the land seizure. It seems unfair, but it’s important for the property owner to act quickly when they are notified of the action. The sooner they do, the more likely they are to have the results of the eminent domain case turn out in their favor.

While most landowners will not be able to stop the government from taking their land, they can take steps to increase the compensation and benefits they receive. Here’s how to go about it:

Contingency Based Results

At Sever Walker Padgitt, we typically provide legal aid on a contingent-fee basis because it is the most efficient model. The arrangement aligns the interests of the client and attorney and effectively makes them business partners in the litigation. It is this partnership between client and attorney that provides the best possible results in the eminent domain case.

How Does The Client Benefit From Using A Contingent-Fee Arrangement?

Risk is one of our Kentucky clients’ biggest worries. Many clients are very concerned about spending a lot of money on attorney fees when they believe that they may not recover more money. By using a contingency fee arrangement, the client eliminates this risk. It allows them to feel comfortable hiring qualified, experienced eminent domain attorneys like those at Sever Walker Padgitt without worrying about fees or paying bills on amonthly basis.

It can serve as an additional incentive for attorneys to provide the best outcomes in every case they take. In a contingency fee arrangement, the attorney has no incentive to conduct wasteful discovery, use unnecessary experts, or drive up needless litigation costs. The attorney has every incentive to be efficient and, most importantly, win the case. In our opinion, a contingent-fee arrangement is the most efficient method of compensating the eminent domain attorney for the result obtained.

A contingency fee is simple, easy, and cost-effective for most clients. In a contingency-fee agreement, our firm is paid only if we recover more money than you were originally offered. In this arrangement, we will take 33% of the amount that we add to the offer.

Here is an example. Let’s assume you were offered $100,000.00 as part of the eminent domain action. You agree to hire our firm, and we negotiate a settlement of $200,000.00. In this situation, your fees would be $33,000.00.

• Initial offer: $100,000.00 (client keeps this full amount)
• Final Settlement: $200,000.00
• Value added: $100,000.00
• Contingency fee calculation at 33% on value added: $33,000.00

Total to client: $167,000.00

If we were not able to successfully add value to your case, then you would not owe attorney fees!

Hourly Arrangements Available

Most eminent domain attorneys are paid with contingency agreements. Hourly arrangements are available for those Kentucky individuals or corporations that desire a more traditional billing structure. If your unique situation would benefit from an hourly rate agreement, we are happy to discuss this option with you.

In situations where we are fighting a taking, we work exclusively on an hourly basis.

Per Ethical Rules: COURT COSTS AND CASE EXPENSES WILL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CLIENT.

Utility Takings In Kentucky

In addition to the State of Kentucky, landowners can have their land taken under eminent domain and condemnation by utility companies, including water, electric, and pipeline companies. These takings can include sewer installations, electric line construction, natural gas pipelines, oil pipelines, and even coal gasification pipelines.

These types of takings present specific challenges to the landowner. They require specific knowledge and experience to be properly evaluated. In many instances, landowners will need special experts to properly develop the case.

It is our mission to hold the Commonwealth of Kentucky and other large corporations accountable for providing just compensation to landowners. At Sever Walker Padgitt, our eminent domain lawyers have experience dealing with utility cases. We have represented numerous clients on sewer, pipeline, and electric line installations. In each case, we worked tirelessly to bring together the right team to hold the utility company accountable.