Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 70 > Chapter 31 > Part 3 - Rights and Duties Relating to Condemnation

• Agency: means a department, agency, or instrumentality of the state of Montana or of a political subdivision of the state, a department, agency, or instrumentality of two or more states or two or more political subdivisions of the state or of two or more states, or a person who has the authority to acquire property by eminent domain as provided in Title 70, chapter 30. See Montana Code 70-31-102
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appraisal: means a written statement, independently and impartially prepared by a qualified appraiser, setting forth an opinion of defined value of an adequately described property as of a specified date and supported by the presentation and analysis of relevant market information. See Montana Code 70-31-102
• Business: means any lawful activity, except a farm operation, conducted:

  (a)primarily for the purchase, sale, lease, and rental of personal and real property and for the manufacture, processing, or marketing of products, commodities, or any other personal property;

  (b)primarily for the sale of services to the public;

  (c)primarily by a nonprofit organization; or

  (d)solely for the purposes of paying moving or related expenses to assist in the purchase, sale, resale, manufacture, processing, or marketing of products, commodities, personal property, or services by the erection and maintenance of an outdoor advertising display or displays, whether or not the display or displays are located on the premises on which any of the activities included as a business are conducted. See Montana Code 70-31-102

• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Farm operation: means any activity conducted solely or primarily for the production of one or more agricultural products or commodities, including timber, for sale or home use and customarily producing agricultural products or commodities in sufficient quantity to be capable of contributing materially to the operator's support. See Montana Code 70-31-102
• Federal financial assistance: means a grant, loan, or contribution provided by the United States, except any federal guarantee or insurance. See Montana Code 70-31-102
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, or association. See Montana Code 70-31-102
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Real property: means lands, tenements, hereditaments, and possessory title to public lands. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• 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.
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201