i just saw another eminent domain story from Oklahoma. There was a beautiful home with 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, parking garages, and fantastic oak trim throughout.
The house was built on 140 acres as a lifelong home and retirement plan. All the bathrooms were handicap accessible, etc.
The state wanted to build a new turnpike right through the house and offered $1.5M for the land they needed which included the home. When built, the road would split their 140 acres down the middle, leaving them some land on both sides of a busy, noisy highway.
The family sued, and the jury awarded them $2.97M, which the state says they may appeal.
The appraised value of the home is $1.9M. Had the state offered a fair price, there would have been a better chance it would be accepted. Now the state is saying the award is $1M too much rationalizing the owners are getting more than the appraised price.
If the state had been fair and made a reasonable offer, the family would not have had to pay lawyers and fight the state for 6 years to get more than the lowball $1.5M offer.
Of course, the lawyers for a case like this would not be working on contingency. They want to get their fees as the case drags on and on.
Add to that the cost of moving, finding another place to live, and so on. There's no tellings what the cost of a new home will be in today's market, nor if anything close to the size and quality of the home they lost is even available in an area they want to be in.
So, an eminent domain case is not necessarily going to go the state's way if they don't offer to pay an acceptable amount for the land on Maui. They can force the sale, but they can't force it without giving just compensation.