We assume that you have heard about that Virginia case, in which the Virginia Supreme Court found a taking for redevelopment illegal and ordered judgment in favor of the property owner. PKO Ventures v. Norfolk Redevelopment Agency — Click here. However, we hear that in that case the condemnor took possession of the subject property before final judgment, so now it has to give the property back to its rightful owner. That ought to be fun, and we wish the owner’s counsel much mirth on that one.
We know because back in the olden days we were involved in a case in which land was taken by a school district. Judgment was entered but was reversed by the California Supreme Court because of aggravated misconduct of condemnor’s trial counsel. Garden Grove School District v. Hendler, 63 Cal. 2d 141 (1965). It was actually a funny story. Ha, ha! While the case was up on appeal, the school district took possession of the subject property (a cattle feed lot) and built a school on it. To top things off the client died, so his son took charge of his estate, and . . . As he put it in a frantic telephone call to us after we won a reversal in the supreme court, “Hey guys. I’m here where I’m supposed to be, but can’t find my father’s feed lot! There is a school on it.” That set off some more frantic activity on his and our part whereupon we realized that the district had taken possession of the property illegally. Hoo boy! So when the Cal Supreme Court sent the matter back to the trial court for retrial sans misconduct, everybody realized that the district had taken the subject property in violation of the law,* and had to give it back. But it couldn’t because by then there was an operating school there. What to do? For a moment or two your faithful servant toyed with the idea of having the sheriff evict those folks, but we couldn’t do that to the kids.
As we recall, the District had to pay rent until it could take possession lawfully, meaning after trial and a new judgment. Fun was had, and even the judge got into the spirit of things and got a chuckle out of it.
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* At that time quick-take was permitted in California only for reservoirs and rights-of-way, and a school is neither of these.