Sec. 27. (a) The court having jurisdiction of a proceeding instituted by an agency to acquire real property by eminent domain shall award the owner of a right, or title to, or interest in, the real property the sum that will in the opinion of the court reimburse the owner for reasonable costs, disbursements, and expenses, including reasonable attorney, appraisal, and engineering fees, actually incurred because of the condemnation proceedings, if:

(1) the final judgment is that the agency cannot acquire the real property by eminent domain; or

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Terms Used In Indiana Code 8-23-17-27

  • agency: means a department, board, commission, office, or instrumentality of the state, including a state supported college or university, or of a political subdivision of the state. See Indiana Code 8-23-17-1
  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Attorney: includes a counselor or other person authorized to appear and represent a party in an action or special proceeding. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Judgment: means all final orders, decrees, and determinations in an action and all orders upon which executions may issue. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • 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: include any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or association. See Indiana Code 8-23-17-9
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Property: includes personal and real property. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • real property: include lands, tenements, and hereditaments. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • 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.
(2) the proceeding is abandoned by the agency.

     (b) An award made under subsection (a) shall be paid by the agency for whose benefit the eminent domain proceedings were instituted.

     (c) The court rendering a judgment for the plaintiff in a proceeding brought under IC 32-24-1-16 or any other Indiana law providing for the institution of proceedings by the owner seeking just compensation for property taken for public use in awarding compensation for the taking of property by an agency, or the agency effecting a settlement of a proceeding, shall determine and award or allow to the plaintiff, as a part of the judgment or settlement a sum that will in the opinion of the court or the agency reimburse the plaintiff for reasonable costs, disbursements, and expenses, including reasonable attorney, appraisal, and engineering fees, actually incurred because of the proceeding.

As added by P.L.18-1990, SEC.226. Amended by P.L.2-2002, SEC.49.