Is the Trump Option Available In SD For Condemnation?
Eminent domain is one of the toughest and most controversial legal powers available to a government, but the South Dakota legislature has so far failed to manage it properly. Eminent domain allows a governmental body to convert privately owned land to another use, often over the objections of the current landowner. The Donald Trump Option is the right of a private party to use eminent domain. This is done by developers, pipeline companies and hotel builders alike. This process is commonly known as a ‘taking’ or ‘condemning the land.’ There are rules, of course. A landowner must be paid “just compensation” for the condemnation of his land. Further, the land that is to be taken may only be taken to further a beneficial public use.
The ability to exercise eminent domain is so powerful that it almost always remains the final legal option. The use of eminent domain is not solely limited to governments. Private parties as well as corporations may exercise the immense power of eminent domain. For example, South Dakota law states that “Any person may exercise the right of eminent domain…to acquire as a public use any property or other rights necessary for application of water to beneficial uses.” Private parties as well as corporations may exercise the immense power of eminent domain.
The law allows a private party to manage water rights by a taking. The statute states, “except as otherwise provided…no person may appropriate the waters of this state for any purpose without first obtaining a permit to do so.” The power of eminent domain may used if the taker puts water to a beneficial use. For this reason, a party may not successfully exercise eminent domain without first having a water permit.
This right to take comes into play when a party seeks access to land he doesn’t own in order to access water. What is a beneficial use? South Dakota law is intentionally vague on this subject. It says beneficial use is the use of water “that is reasonable and useful and beneficial to the appropriator, and at the same time is consistent with the interests of the public.” For courts, this is a balancing test, as opposed to a concrete definition. The question in eminent domain cases, then, is whether or not a proposed use of water fits this vague legislative definition of ‘beneficial use.’ The Supreme Court has implied that it can. As a result, eminent domain cases involving water can span an enormous berth of cases, with those claiming eminent domain seeking water for everything from irrigation to oil extraction.
There is irony in too much of what the South Dakota legislature does. Counties and municipalities are forbidden from using eminent domain for the benefit of a private party. Yet the field is wide open for private parties to use eminent domain for a private party’s benefit.
Whether it is a taking to obtain water rights or land for a pipeline, the matter of ‘just compensation’ to be given to the landowner is paramount. I have advocated in prior blog articles the need to revisit the matter of just compensation. This issue applies to a government or private taking. The ‘valuation process’ should be changed. The SD Supreme Court has stated that the state legislature has the authority to create the method of compensation in a condemnation proceeding. The State Constitution is interestingly stronger from a landowner’s perspective than is the US Constitution on the issue of eminent domain.
State Senator Monroe, or his speechwriter, state that that my argument (and that of 5 states and counting as of 2012) is wrongheaded. He has stated, “We have well established legal mechanisms to compensate property owners and treat them fairly.” Good negotiations by a landowner may result in more favorable compensation. But the playing field should be level between the land taker, who has the power of the law to take, and the landowner. Senator Monroe’s refusal to look at the issue is a belittlement of efforts to protect property rights.
I do not know whether the Senator has had a pipeline run through his property under an eminent domain proceeding. A taking is not a normal market transaction because the landowner has no choice. A landowner can’t walk away from the table. The legal process of taking private property is just as important as the right to free speech, freedom of religion and the protection against unreasonable search and seizures.
There are several problems with South Dakotan condemnation law. The law should be revised to include written disclosures following the requirements of Wyoming law. Wyoming law provides new rights for landowners in all condemnation proceedings, whether initiated by the government or private parties. SD law should require that the taker show the details of the proposed project plan and the written basis behind any compensation offer. An additional provision that should be changed is the legal taking procedure. Currently the procedure does not allow the landowner the recovery of all of his court costs, appraisal costs, expert witness fees and attorney’s fees even in the event he should prevail in the case. This forces landowners to fear spending money defending their own land, something that a citizen should never have to do. SD law should provide that a landowner is entitled to an award of all court costs, appraisal costs, expert witness fees and attorney’s fees if the taker failed to negotiate in good faith, or if the compensation awarded by the court or jury exceeds the amount of money offered by the taker to the landowner. Until then, the playing field will remain skewed in favor of takers.
David Ganje. David Ganje of Ganje Law Offices practices in the area of natural resources, environmental and commercial law in South Dakota and North Dakota. The website is Lexenergy.net
