Section 4 Common Law

• Library: Condemnation Practice 2009

Under common-law rules, it is possible for landowners to recover attorney fees, but "[t]he general rule in this state is that public agencies, as opposed to private corporations, are exempt from liability for litigation expense or pecuniary loss incurred by the landowner in condemnation proceedings when the agency's abandonment is timely and in good faith." Land Clearance for Redevelopment Auth. of City of St. Louis v. United States Steel, 911 S.W.2d 685, 689 (Mo. App. E.D. 1995); State ex rel. Mo. Highway & Transp. Comm'n v. Turner, 857 S.W.2d 293 (Mo. App. W.D. 1993). The distinction must be made between the abandonment of...