Expert types
Economic evidence, where the state allows it
Most states do not compensate business loss in condemnation. A few do, by statute, and in those states the economist or forensic accountant becomes a central witness rather than a peripheral one.
Scope
The questions this expert answers
Does this state compensate business damages
The threshold question. Florida does by statute; most states do not. The answer determines whether this expert is central or irrelevant.
How much profit was lost, and why
Causation is the hard part. Separating the effect of the taking from market conditions, management and everything else is what the analysis is for.
What does reestablishment cost
Under the relocation programme, defined categories of expense at a replacement site, subject to statutory caps.
What is the business worth
Where goodwill is compensable, which is a minority position and narrowly drawn where it exists.
What income does the property produce
Supporting the income approach to the real estate, which is a different question from the value of the business.
Is the loss temporary or permanent
Construction period disruption and permanent impairment are treated very differently, almost everywhere.
Selection
Qualifications and what to check
| Criterion | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Credentials | CPA with forensic accreditation, or an economist with litigation experience |
| Condemnation experience | Business damages in condemnation differ from commercial damages generally |
| State knowledge | Whether and how this state compensates business loss, and under what conditions |
| Causation discipline | Able to isolate the taking’s effect rather than attributing every decline to it |
| Data handling | Works from records that will be produced and tested, not from management assertion |
In practice
The overreach that loses these claims
Business damages claims fail most often on causation. A business whose turnover declined during a construction period will attribute all of it to the project. Cross examination then establishes that the decline began before construction, that comparable businesses declined similarly, that a key employee left, that the market softened.
A credible expert concedes the parts that are not attributable and quantifies the part that is. That is a smaller number and a far more durable one. An unqualified claim for every dollar of decline usually recovers nothing.
Keep the questions separate. What the real estate is worth is one question, answered by an appraiser. What the business lost is another, answered here, and only where the state permits it to be asked at all.
Questions about this expert
My business will suffer during construction. Can I claim
In most states, no. Temporary construction disruption is generally not compensable, though the temporary easement itself is paid for and relocation benefits may apply.
What is the difference between business damages and goodwill
Business damages are usually lost profits over a period. Goodwill is the intangible value of the going concern. States that compensate one do not necessarily compensate the other.
Does the relocation programme cover business losses
It covers defined moving and reestablishment expenses up to statutory limits, not lost profits. It is a separate programme from the compensation for the property.
The expert decides the number more often than the argument does
In condemnation the facts in dispute are technical. Who presents them, and how well, is usually what the case turns on.