Litigation support
Reading the agency’s own file
Agencies document their projects thoroughly. Plans, design changes, internal estimates and correspondence frequently contain the acknowledgement that an appraisal does not.
What to obtain
The documents worth reading
| Document | What it can reveal |
|---|---|
| Construction plans and cross sections | What is actually being built next to the remainder, including grade and drainage |
| Right of way plans | The exact extent of permanent and temporary areas |
| The full appraisal and any review of it | Internal reviews sometimes record the weakness the owner suspected |
| Appraisals of neighbouring parcels | Inconsistent treatment of similar properties on the same corridor |
| Design change records | Where the taking grew or moved, and why |
| Internal cost estimates | What the agency itself priced for cures and reinstatement |
| Environmental and geotechnical reports | Constraints that affect value in either direction |
| Traffic studies | Access and movement effects the agency has already analysed |
| Correspondence and contact logs | What was said, by whom, and when |
Why the expert reads it
Plans are evidence, and they are technical
Counsel can read correspondence. What counsel generally cannot do is look at sheet 14 of a construction drawing set and see that the finished grade at the property boundary is four feet above the existing driveway, or that the drainage design discharges across the remainder.
Those findings are not in any narrative. They are in the drawings, and they usually appear nowhere else in the acquisition file. An engineer or a traffic expert reading the plans early routinely finds the most valuable facts in a condemnation case.
Ask for everything early, in writing. Much of this is public record or obtainable in discovery, and the material loses value as the schedule compresses.
Questions about document review
Can I get these before filing
Much of it is public record and obtainable on request. Internal appraisal reviews and some correspondence may require discovery.
What is the single most useful document
The construction cross sections at the property boundary. They show what the remainder will actually face, which is the question the after value turns on.
Who should review them
An engineer for plans, an appraiser for valuation documents, counsel for correspondence. The expensive mistake is having only one of the three look at everything.
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.