When the government wants to use your property for a public purpose, such as a school or a park, it must pay you just compensation for the market value of your property. This is called eminent domain. Eminent domain cases typically involve disputes over the market value of the property, or disputes over whether the government is truly going to use the property for a public purpose.

What if the government is regulating the use of your property without paying any just compensation? In this instance, the property owner must initiate an action against the government for damages, such as diminished market value or lost income. This is called an action for inverse condemnation, a right you have under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution and the California Constitution.

If the behavior of a government employee is particularly arbitrary or egregious, the employee may be found liable under the Civil Rights Act.

With many years of experience litigating inverse condemnation cases, Kassouni Law can assist you in case evaluation and in posturing your case properly very early on to maximize results. There can often be very short statutes of limitations, therefore it is important to take action as soon as problems arise.

For more information see building permit issues, inverse condemnation, and civil rights.