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Eminent Domain Information
Practicing Solely In Eminent Domain

Nor Shall Private Property Be Taken For Public Use, Without Just Compensation
- The 5th Amendment, U.S. Constitution

Past Results

NOTE: Past results are no guarantee on future cases, each case depends on its own unique facts.


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Gas Pipeline

Case 1:

Gas Pipeline
30’ wide gas pipeline running across rural Ozark hills.
Offer:  $    5,812
Result: $100,000
10 acres taken

Case 1:

10 acres taken
10 of 39 acres taken. Land had been difficult to develop because of an old highway road no longer in use which crossed the property. Property owner obtained more monies together with the old highway road which, when vacated, created valuable commercial property.
Offer:  $  350,000
Result: $3,100,000 plus property
Median Impacts Business

Case 1:

Median Impacts Business
Boat and marine retail store lost only 6,000 square feet in a highway widening, but the placement of a median in the road interfered with customer access to the business.
Offer:  $    6,750
Result: $283,636
Food Distributor

Case 1:

Food Distributor
Owner’s focus was on replacement costs, as opposed to the value of the condemned property.
Offer:  $1,900,000
Result: $5,300,000
Auto body and repair shop

Case 3:

Auto body and repair shop
Auto mechanical and body repair facility was being acquired for a new industrial park. Initial offer was for land only; treated building as if it had no value.
Offer:  $    45,616
Result: $2,350,000
Heritage value awarded of nearly $1,000,000

Case 4:

Heritage value awarded of nearly $1,000,000
102 acre farm had been in the family for more than 100 years. 6 acres taken with potential commercial value. $3,000,000 result of which $959,000 was heritage value.
Offer:  $   464,300
Result: $3,000,000
Light industrial metal building

Case 2:

Light industrial metal building
Family owned business acquired for new industrial park. Initial offer was for land only; treated building as if it had no value.
Offer:  $     24,864
Result: $1,700,000
Future downtown expansion

Case 5:

Future downtown expansion
2 acres north of the St. Louis Convention Center. Issue was whether the owner’s property should be viewed as part of a run-down section of St. Louis or as a future logical expansion of downtown St. Louis.
Offer:  $   525,000
Result: $3,500,000
Access and Visibility Impacted

Case 6:

Access and Visibility Impacted
3 acres taken from a large farm with commercial potential. Road project impacted access and visibility to the remaining property.
Offer:  $  99,500
Result: $825,000
Subdivision Common Ground

Case 2:

Subdivision Common Ground
Two strips of land, one being a subdivision road and the other a green "buffer" strip were acquired for a light rail system. The road was replaced and returned to the subdivision.
Offer:  $      10,000
Result: $1,002,538
Hobby store

Case 7:

Hobby store
Wood working hobby store ultimately receives 183 times the original offer. Initial offer treated building as if it contributed no value.
Offer:  $    3,275
Result: $600,160
Retail Store

Case 8:

Retail Store
Retail store for motorcycles. Slightly more that 1/2 acre is condemned from a 4 acre tract for an off-ramp. Loss of potential building site on excess land, loss and parking, relocated entrance and new signage combine for damages to the property.
Offer:  $ 361,400
Result: $ 800,000
Commercial Assemblage

Case 9:

Commercial Assemblage
City testified that 11.5 acres with a house should be valued at $175,000. It was zoned residential; comprised largely of a hill with nearly a 100' drop; access over a low water bridge; and no commercial frontage. We claimed commercial value for the ground.
Offer:  $   175,000
Result: $1,383,580
Residential Common Ground

Case 4:

Residential Common Ground
Owners of large homes claim damages by reason of losing portion of alley behind their homes in condemnation.
Offer:  $     10,750
Result: $1,094,635
Commercial Land

Case 10:

Commercial Land
Five acres taken for drainage ditch, detention pond and a road.
Offer:  $   195,700
Result: $1,880,000
Convenience store and gas station

Case 11:

Convenience store and gas station
While no property was taken, a local road project would result in the entrances to this property being moved from the front of the property to the side. We alleged that the business would be adversely impacted by the new entrance locations and by the new road configuration to get to the site.
Offer:  $   100,000
Result: $1,250,000
Downtown Office Building

Case 12:

Downtown Office Building
Vacant commercial building which government abandoned after the commissioners' award. Government subsequently agreed to purchase property on terms similar to the award.
Offer:  $   257,000
Result: $6,100,000
Farm land valued as multi-family

Case 5:

Farm land valued as multi-family
1 acre taking that impacted future development of farm for future multi-family use.
Offer:  $ 298,000
Result: $ 650,000
Restaurant and bar

Case 13:

Restaurant and bar
Older, vacant bar/restaurant building. Initial offer was for land only; treated building as if it had no value.
Offer:  $    9,147
Result: $330,000
Residential valued as Commercial

Case 14:

Residential valued as Commercial
5 1/2 acre tract without commercial access split in half; taking of 1 acre. We claimed that by assembling this tract with others, high commercial value would have been created.
Offer:  $   266,000
Result: $1,061,000
Common Ground

Case 7:

Common Ground
Less than 1/2 acre of common ground taken from apartment complex together with a temporary construction easement.
Offer:  $   95,823
Result: $221,000
Farm Land

Case 4:

Farm Land
17 acres of farm land in Ozarks.
Offer:  $  17,000
Result: $100,000
Environmentally contaminated property

Case 15:

Environmentally contaminated property
Condemning authority claimed a value of only $134,000 because of contamination clean up costs associated with the closed up service station. At trial, we were able to successfully discredit the effects of the contamination on the value of the property.
Offer:  $134,000
Result: $448,000
Group of vacant lots

Case 4:

Group of vacant lots
Eight owners of vacant land tracts were acquired for a redevelopment project. They joined together and hired our firm to protect their rights.
Offer:  $  47,045
Result: $786,214
Electric transmission line

Case 5:

Electric transmission line
Unrestricted access by utility to cross 1,000 acre farm to build a 161kv transmission line.
Offer:  $ 46,000
Result: $159,575
Retail Business Saved

Case 16:

Retail Business Saved
The property was being condemned as the final stage of a TIF project. We convinced the City to dismiss the condemnation and to allow the business to remain on property.
Offer:  see description below
Result: Business Saved
Residential Front Yard

Case 9:

Residential Front Yard
5 foot strip taken from home's front yard for a road widening.
Offer:  $  3,600
Result: $25,000
Apartment Complex

Case 10:

Apartment Complex
176 unit apartment complex acquired for Airport expansion.
Offer:  $  8,000,000
Result: $13,100,000
Transmission Line

Case 11:

Transmission Line
Electric transmission line on vacant land.
Offer:  $  9,500
Result: $33,375
Industrial

Case 5:

Industrial
Industrial property split in two by new roadway. Government claimed remaining property's value changed from industrial to commercial as a result of the project.
Offer:  $0
Result: $750,000
Retail Store

Case 17:

Retail Store
Road project caused retail building to suffer loss of visibility and loss of easy access from signal intersection.
Offer:  $   43,362
Result: $315,000
Golf Course

Case 12:

Golf Course
Sewer easement placed along the edge of a golf course.
Offer:  $  13,500
Result: $327,000
Relocation money to move office warehouse

Case 6:

Relocation money to move office warehouse
In addition to payment for the property, business owner received $756,000 for moving expenses.
Offer:  see description below
Result: $756,000
Heritage Value - additional compensation.

Case 7:

Heritage Value - additional compensation.
For small warehouse in the family for over 50 years, owner received 50% additional compensation above the property’s value.
Offer:  see description below
Result: $374,777
Retail landscape supply company

Case 18:

Retail landscape supply company
Landscaping company lost ½ acre and a small house used as an office. We measured the owner’s damages by the cost to replace or repair all the problems created by the condemnation.
Offer:  $  624,000
Result: $1,400,000
Commercial potential vacant land

Case 19:

Commercial potential vacant land
45 acre vacant site of which 15 acres was condemned for a TIF project creating a commercial and park development. In addition to monetary compensation, the owners were given 3 acres of adjoining commercial property as well as allowed to keep 3 acres originally acquired for project.
Offer:  $   464,277
Result: $1,992,000 plus 6 acres of land.
Church

Case 2:

Church
Church with 11 ½ acres loses 2 acres of excess, unused land.
Offer:  $   541,500
Result: $1,231,682
Vacant motel

Case 20:

Vacant motel.
1.2 acres taken from a 7 acre vacant motel site purchased for $875,000 just 3 1/2 years before taking. Property was purchased for future commercial development in Branson, Mo.
Offer:  $   618,000
Result: $1,482,000
Older office warehouse

Case 8:

Older office warehouse
$3.3 million to pay for superior replacement which was much greater than the fair market value of property taken.
Offer:  see description below
Result: $3,300,000
Commercial Land

Case 21:

Commercial Land
Property had good highway visibility, but the topography showed a 40' drop and irregular shape, making development difficult.
Offer:  $   62,500
Result: $493,969
Commercial Land

Case 22:

Commercial Land
2.3 acres are were taken from a 3.5 acre site, leaving the remaining property unusable. Though undeveloped at the time, the potential for future commercial use proved the property to be more valuable than the institutional or residential use argued by the highway department.
Offer:  $    304,500
Result: $1,138,450
Downtown Kansas City Parking

Case 23:

Downtown Kansas City Parking
Existing use is a parking lot that serves nearby courthouse and government buildings. Our position was that the property benefited from nearby downtown growth.
Offer:  $    610,000
Result: $1,287,495
Residential partial taking

Case 13:

Residential partial taking
15% reduction to the value of the home by reason of a road widening taking 13' from the front yard.
Offer:  $37,600
Result: $80,450
Strip shopping center access

Case 24:

Strip shopping center access
All that was taken from this older shopping center was a 3,600 square foot temporary construction easement. We argued that the change from a two-way to a one-way street on one side of the center and its impact on the center’s parking configuration impacted its value.
Offer:  $    6,700
Result: $165,269
Golf Course

Case 3:

Golf Course
For a road widening, highway department wanted to cut a drainage ditch across this golf course. With the fear of future flooding, we convinced the highway department to redraw their plans to permit us to construct a detention pond used as a lake on one of the holes of the golf course.
Offer:  $214,200
Result: $873,858 plus change in plans
Dry Cleaners

Case 25:

Dry Cleaners
This building lost a portion of its front parking which would impact future rents.
Offer:  $   21,540
Result: $100,000
Industrial Service Building

Case 9:

Industrial Service Building
An industrial service company stored trucks and material outside. The difficulty of finding replacement sites that permit outside storage made this a much more valuable property.
Offer:  $125,000
Result: $525,000
Commercial Land

Case 26:

Commercial Land
One half of this 13 acre commercial tract was taken, leaving a steep hill. Remaining property sat behind a sound wall on a divided roadway with poor access.
Offer:  $2,287,317
Result: $4,714,828
Former landfill

Case 27:

Former landfill
Land contained a large unlicensed landfill. We valued the property with brownfield tax incentives to minimize any detrimental effect of the waste on the value of the property.
Offer:  $   107,745
Result: $1,625,522
Downtown Ground Lease

Case 28:

Downtown Ground Lease
This taking involved the acquisition of land that was subject to a long term land lease.
Offer:  $3,250,000
Result: $6,000,000
Vacant land

Case 29:

Vacant land
Vacant land owner given commercial value to reflect visibility from a major roadway.
Offer:  $  2,354
Result: $78,470
Single family residence

Case 15:

Single family residence
Widening of road taking 59 square feet and some landscaping.
Offer:  $10,652
Result: $32,000
Sign Company

Case 12:

Sign Company
Sign company in flood plain.
Offer:  $   280,500
Result: $1,050,000
Retail Center - Partial Taking

Case 30:

Retail Center - Partial Taking
10' wide ditch taken along retail center's frontage.
Offer:  $0
Result: $215,300
Small Manufacturing Building

Case 13:

Small Manufacturing Building
Result: $320,000 plus government assumed responsibility for possible contamination cleanup.
Offer:  see description below
Result: $320,000
Flood plain

Case 6:

Flood plain
Initially, the condemnation proposed a 3 acre acquisition of flood way and flood plain with a small house. In the end, the size of the taking was reduced in half but the compensation was doubled.
Offer:  $286,000
Result: $570,000
Downtown parking lot

Case 31:

Downtown parking lot
A one-acre parking lot losing 2,000 square feet and one entrance. Parking lot’s primary business was parking for baseball games downtown.
Offer:  $276,347
Result: $755,021
Parking Lot

Case 32:

Parking Lot
37,000 sq ft parking lot located on the fringe of downtown St. Louis
Offer:  see description below
Result: $1,487,520
Bank

Case 33:

Bank
We showed that the cost of reproducing this rural bank far exceeded the amount offered.
Offer:  $   901,000
Result: $1,750,000
Church

Case 4:

Church
The congregation at this old church had just paid $135,000 for the building shortly before they discovered it was going to be acquired.
Offer:  $175,000
Result: $354,906
Warehouse inverse condemnation

Case 14:

Warehouse inverse condemnation
The City had placed a road along side this warehouse building, but had failed to pay for the property. We filed an inverse condemnation suit on behalf of the owner to force the City to pay compensation for the taking.
Offer:  see description below
Result: $225,000
Hardware Store Parking

Case 34:

Hardware Store Parking
3,000 square feet taken from parking area in front of local hardware store.
Offer:  $149,300
Result: $425,000
Pipeline through Farm

Case 7:

Pipeline through Farm
Oil pipeline taking 2.7 acres from farm and causing crop damage.
Offer:  $  26,253
Result: $113,202
Church

Case 5:

Church
We claimed a small church had excess land that could be used for a compatible, institutional use.
Offer:  $   710,000
Result: $1,552,270
High Rise Office Building's Parking

Case 35:

High Rise Office Building's Parking
Compensation to repair parking lot of high rise building caused by 1,800 square foot taking.
Offer:  $  19,000
Result: $166,400
Convenience store and gas station partial taking

Case 36:

Convenience store and gas station partial taking
The widening of the street impaired access to one set of fuel pumps and removed one entrance.
Offer:  $163,200
Result: $365,000
Auto Repair Facility - Partial Taking

Case 37:

Auto Repair Facility - Partial Taking
A 10 foot wide strip was taken for a road widening which interfered with the parking for this auto repair facility.
Offer:  $   35,500
Result: $100,284
Storage Facility

Case 38:

Storage Facility
1,637 square feet taken with access road relocated to rear of storage facility.
Offer:  $  24,100
Result: $190,000
High Rise Office Building's Parking

Case 39:

High Rise Office Building's Parking
1,200 square feet taken from rear of high rise building which we alleged would interfere with parking.
Offer:  $  42,000
Result: $309,000
Parking for Bank

Case 40:

Parking for Bank
Bank lost a grass strip less than a fifth of an acre in a road widening.
Offer:  $10,000
Result: $60,000
Obsolete Strip Commercial Center

Case 41:

Obsolete Strip Commercial Center
12,120 square feet taken from old, largely vacant strip shopping center located in blighted area.
Offer:  $  45,900
Result: $120,000
Small Iron Works Facility

Case 16:

Small Iron Works Facility
Small, older iron works facility in urban area.
Offer:  $185,000
Result: $376,000
Landlocked Property

Case 42:

Landlocked Property
Two acre landlocked property. We showed by having the right to obtain access by legal necessity, the property should be valued with access.
Offer:  $  50,000
Result: $278,280
Residential/TIF Project

Case 16:

Residential/TIF Project
Lower income area consisting of an older home, a rental home and two vacant lots.
Offer:  $276,000
Result: $780,000
Quarry

Case 17:

Quarry
20 acres of farm ground owned by quarry taken by utility company. Quarry owner had just purchased land for $1,000 per acre. Quarry owner claimed farm land contained future "rock" inventory and compensation should be paid for the loss. Jury supported our view.
Offer:  $   169,000
Result: $1,049,789
Sand & Gravel Operation

Case 18:

Sand & Gravel Operation
4.5 acres taken from sand and gravel operation.
Offer:  $  75,000
Result: $500,000
Residential land for Commercial Assemblage

Case 17:

Residential land for Commercial Assemblage
Residential property acquired for retail center. We claimed commercial assemblage value.
Offer:  $  41,000
Result: $385,000
Hotel

Case 44:

Hotel
$3.65 million and the owner leased back the hotel for over one year at a nominal rent.
Offer:  see description below
Result: $3,650,000
Scrap Metal Operation

Case 19:

Scrap Metal Operation
0.5 acre taken from scrap metal operation.
Offer:  $  70,000
Result: $230,000
Trucking Operation

Case 20:

Trucking Operation
Owner had just purchased land for truck operation when it had been condemned.
Offer:  $   720,000
Result: $1,200,000
Dog Kennel

Case 45:

Dog Kennel
Property taken from small dog kennel.
Offer:  $126,000
Result: $363,000
Flood Plain

Case 8:

Flood Plain
Flood property near Missouri River.
Offer:  $   388,000
Result: $1,000,000
Commercial Land

Case 46:

Commercial Land
Partial taking of property. Government claimed residentially zoned land had residential value. We showed a likelihood of rezoning to commercial.
Offer:  $  42,700
Result: $275,000
Shopping Center Parking

Case 47:

Shopping Center Parking
Shopping Center lost 14 parking spaces on 2.5 acre site.
Offer:  $  40,000
Result: $400,000
Small liquor store located in depressed area.

Case 48:

Liquor Store
Small liquor store located in depressed area.
Offer:  $  82,900
Result: $234,700
Daycare - Nonconforming Use

Case 49:

Daycare - Nonconforming Use
Taking of 11 parking spaces created a non-conforming use.
Offer:  $  38,900
Result: $136,500
Car Wash

Case 50:

Car Wash
942 square feet taken from car wash entrance.
Offer:  $12,700
Result: $75,000
Restaurant Parking

Case 51:

Restaurant Parking
Restaurant loses 4 parking spaces in rear.
Offer:  $20,000
Result: $94,000
Pipeline Across Rural Land

Case 9:

Pipeline Across Rural Land
A pipeline crossed this rural tract, taking less than one acre.
Offer:  $  6,924
Result: $51,000
Apartment Parking

Case 18:

Apartment Parking
Front row of parking removed from apartment complex.
Offer:  $  45,000
Result: $125,000
Commercial Retail

Case 52:

Commercial Retail
Commercial center loses 1,000 square feet grass buffer.
Offer:  $12,000
Result: $62,000
Future NASCAR Track

Case 10:

Future NASCAR Track
Rural land outside of Kansas City, Kansas taken for NASCAR Raceway. We claimed industrial potential in the future.
Offer:  $   741,000
Result: $1,600,000
Residential Front Yard

Case 19:

Residential Front Yard
2000 square feet taken off the front.
Offer:  $13,904
Result: $75,000
Obsolete Storage Facility

Case 53:

Obsolete Storage Facility
4.62 acres condemned in partial taking from an obsolete storage facility. We claimed damage to potential outlots.
Offer:  see description below
Result: $3,100,000
Tire Store

Case 54:

Tire Store
In St. Charles County, an automotive store lost 10 parking spaces. Awarded $250,000 based on our argument that the business was being harmed. The government eventually bought entire property for additional money.
Offer:  $  60,800
Result: $250,000
Residential Zoning/Commercial Value

Case 55:

Residential Zoning/Commercial Value
Government sought to condemn 19 vacant acres, which they abandoned after obtaining the results. It valued the property residential. Our position was commercial value.
Offer:  $   510,000
Result: $4,200,000
Downtown Parking Lots

Case 56:

Downtown Parking Lots
Parking lots located in downtown St. Louis.
Offer:  $   940,000
Result: $1,842,000
Commercial Retail

Case 57:

Commercial Retail
Less than 1/4th acre taken from rear of furniture store site. Land taken was excess grass land. We claimed expansion opportunity taken away.
Offer:  $  88,000
Result: $260,000
Inverse Condemnation, St. Louis Lambert Airport

Case 21:

Inverse Condemnation, St. Louis Lambert Airport
Homeowners' claims that airplane noise depreciated the value of their homes.
Offer:  see description below
Result: $13,000,000
Vacant Ground

Case 11:

Vacant Ground
Vacant farm land with commercial potential.
Offer:  $505,000
Result: $973,570
Old Style Motel

Case 58:

Old Style Motel
Older budget motel acquired for airport expansion.
Offer:  see description below
Result: $4,000,000
Fishing Lake

Case 59:

Fishing Lake
1/3 acre temporary construction easement taken from fishing lake. Interfered with fishing business.
Offer:  $    5,300
Result: $100,000
Auto Body Business

Case 60:

Auto Body Business
Auto repair business loses rear unused portion of property. We claimed that the property was damaged because of loss opportunity to expand.
Offer:  $100,000
Result: $330,000
Concert Venue

Case 61:

Concert Venue
Popular concert venue and night club. Result: $1,300,000 plus owner also allowed to keep the property free of charge for another 5 years.
Offer:  see description below
Result: $1,300,000
Farm Land with Commercial Potential

Case 62:

Farm Land with Commercial Potential
33.5 acres of farm land taken - commercial value sought.
Offer:  $2,950,000
Result: $4,000,000
Sports Store Parking

Case 63:

Sports Store Parking
Taking of 2,100 square feet off front, which caused parking to be relocated.
Offer:  $  43,000
Result: $100,000 div>
Trailer Park

Case 22:

Trailer Park
Obsolete trailer court taken for airport expansion.
Offer:  $400,000
Result: $735,000
Commercial Highest and Best Use

Case 23:

Commercial Highest and Best Use
Large tract with home valued for commercial potential in road widening.
Offer:  $254,390
Result: $612,674
Loss of privacy.

Case 24:

Loss of privacy.
Road moved closer to home that eliminated trees that acted as a privacy buffer.
Offer:  $11,380
Result: $70,700
Home impacted by road widening.

Case 25:

Home impacted by road widening.
A road was widened and relocated nearer home that created safety issues and a loss of a tree "buffer" and a circle driveway.
Offer:  $10,320
Result: $50,150
Apartments impacted

Case 26:

Apartments impacted
A road project made it more difficult to rent apartments and took land needed for future club house.
Offer:  $95,823
Result: $221,000
Converted Residence

Case 65:

Converted Residence
A former residence being used as a customer service office. Less than 1,000 square feet of property was taken from the 1.5 acre lot. However, the project made access to the property so dangerous, that the office had to be permanently closed.
Offer:  $  24,100
Result: $145,000
Home With Commercial Use

Case 66:

Home With Commercial Use
A home being used as both a residence and office was located on land that had potential for apartments.
Offer:  $306,000
Result: $550,000
Flood Plain with Residence

Case 28:

Flood Plain with Residence
Large lot with a single residence taken for new highway. The government valued as just a house. We argued that, even with flood plain issues, the property could be developed as a subdivision.
Offer:  $440,000
Result: $800,000
Older Home

Case 29:

Older Home
New highway resulted in the taking of an older home. The owners were entitled to homestead value for the taking.
Offer:  $311,000
Result: $500,000
Commercial Land

Case 67:

Commercial Land
Land was purchased for commercial storage. The taking removed the easy access to the property.
Offer:  $  93,000
Result: $350,000
Sewer Line Through Side Yard

Case 30:

Sewer Line Through Side Yard
Sewer line goes through side yard of home.
Offer:  $   7,500
Result: $ 28,562
Home Impacted by Sewer Line

Case 31:

Home Impacted by Sewer Line
Older rural home was impacted by a sewer line and the construction of a new sewer plant nearby.
Offer:  $  1,700
Result: $18,000
Former Grain Silo

Case 22:

Former Grain Silo
A portion of a former grain silo was taken for sewage treatment plant. We argued the property had potential for rail service.
Offer:  $  84,000
Result: $200,000
Home and Land

Case 32:

Home and Land
Older home and land taken for highway.
Offer:  $193,750
Result: $556,831
Home and 3 Acres

Case 33:

Home and 3 Acres
Home and 3 acre lot taken for highway.
Offer:  $456,250
Result: $911,475
Transmission Line Impacts Home and Ranch

Case 14:

Transmission Line Impacts Home and Ranch
High-power transmission line splits property used for ranch and home.
Offer:  $ 10,600
Result: $100,000
Home on ranch impacted by transmission line.

Case 15:

Home on ranch impacted by transmission line.
A 345 kv transmission line was placed across this ranch occupied by the owners.
Offer:  $ 4,800
Result: $65,000
Home on ranch impacted by transmission line.

Case 16:

Home on ranch impacted by transmission line.
Transmission lines placed across wooded rural property with rolling hills.
Offer:  $12,500
Result: $85,000
Over 12 acres taken for transmission line easement

Case 17:

Over 12 acres taken for transmission line easement
Property used for residential and farming impaired by transmission line easement nearly half a mile long.
Offer:  $  17,800
Result: $125,000