The Utah Condemnation Law team secured a victory for its client when the Utah Court of Appeals sustained the dismissal of an attempted condemnation by Salt Lake City. On October 16, 2020 the Utah Court of Appeals agreed that Salt Lake City’s attempt to condemn an avigation easement across property in Tooele County should be dismissed because the city failed to follow the statutory requirements for condemning the easement.
In a case that should be “a cautionary tale to government entities,” the city failed to give the landowners notice of meetings and the opportunity to be heard per statutory requirements. Given the city’s “acknowledged shortcomings,” the court refused to “rescue[] it from its procedural missteps.” Because “[t]he City’s actions indisputably violated the explicit terms fo the statute and subverted its objective of abundant procedural fairness to property owners,” the city’s attempt to condemn the easement was dismissed.