Delaware Code Title 20 Sec. 3145 – Compensation
(a) The State shall pay just compensation to the owner of any private facilities or materials that are lawfully taken or appropriated by the public safety authority or public health authority for their temporary or permanent use under this subchapter during a public health emergency. State compensation shall not be provided for facilities or materials that are closed, evacuated, decontaminated or destroyed when there is reasonable cause to be believed that they may endanger the public health. Except as otherwise indicated in this subchapter, “just compensation” shall be used in the same manner that it is used in Chapter 61 of Title 10.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 20 Sec. 3145
- Emergency: means any situation which requires efforts and capabilities to save lives or to protect property, public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster in Delaware. See Delaware Code Title 20 Sec. 3102
- Public health authority: means the Secretary of Health and Social Services or such person as the Secretary may designate with the Governor's consent. See Delaware Code Title 20 Sec. 3132
- Public safety authority: means the Director of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency or such other person as the Governor may designate. See Delaware Code Title 20 Sec. 3132
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- State of emergency: means an emergency proclaimed pursuant to an emergency order by the Governor. See Delaware Code Title 20 Sec. 3102
(b) Any action against the State with regard to the payment of compensation shall be brought in the Superior Court of the State in the county in which the property is alleged to have been taken or appropriated in accordance with existing Superior Court rules or any such rules that may be developed by the Court for use during a state of emergency.
(c) The amount of compensation shall be calculated in the same manner as compensation due for taking of property pursuant to nonemergency eminent domain procedures, except that the amount of compensation calculated for confiscated supplies or materials shall not exceed the costs incurred to produce the items.