Arizona Laws 28-7153. Condemnation; litigation expenses
A. The court having jurisdiction of a proceeding instituted by the department to acquire real property by condemnation shall award the owner of any right to, title to or interest in the real property an amount that will reimburse the owner for the owner’s reasonable costs, disbursements and expenses, including reasonable attorney, appraisal and engineering fees, actually incurred because of the condemnation proceedings, if any of the following occurs:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 28-7153
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Department: means the department of transportation acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents. See Arizona Laws 28-101
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Owner: means :
(a) A person who holds the legal title of a vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-101
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
1. The final judgment is that the department cannot acquire the real property by condemnation.
2. The proceeding is abandoned or dismissed on a motion by the department as authorized by section 28-7100.
B. The court rendering a judgment for the plaintiff in a proceeding brought under section 28-7052 awarding compensation for the taking of property by the department in effecting a settlement of that proceeding shall determine and award to the plaintiff, as a part of the judgment or settlement, an amount that in the opinion of the court or the department will reimburse the plaintiff for the plaintiff’s reasonable costs, disbursements and expenses, including reasonable attorney, appraisal and engineering fees, actually incurred because of the proceeding.