Compensation
The claim most states do not allow, and the one Florida owners most often fail to raise.
In almost every state a condemnation claim ends at the real estate. The land and buildings are valued, the owner is paid, and whatever happens to the business trading there is treated as its own problem.
Florida is different. Section 73.071(3)(b) of the Florida Statutes brings damage to a business within what a jury may award, subject to conditions that include the business having been established more than five years where the taking occurs on or after 1 January 2005.
The short answer
If a business of standing operates on the property, the claim has two halves. Raising the business half late is the commonest way it gets lost.
Owner occupied and tenanted premises.
Read moreThe real estate side of the claim.
Read moreUsually the mechanism by which trade is damaged.
Read moreHarm to the property, as distinct from the business.
Read moreThe pattern where business damages most often arise.
Read moreThe standard all of this sits inside.
Read moreThe statutory conditions include how long the business has been established at the location.
Access change, parking loss, visibility loss or construction disruption.
Accounts, takings and customer data predating the project.
The reduction attributable to the taking, separated from unrelated market movement.
Severance damages compensate the property, business damages compensate the business. Both can arise from the same take.
Section 73.071 puts value, severance damages and business damages to the jury where the parties disagree.
Trading records that predate the works are far more persuasive than reconstructions afterwards.
Showing how the physical change to the site produced the trading change is the heart of it.
A business already declining is a harder claim. Be honest about this early rather than late.
The position differs, and the lease matters. Both should be examined at the outset.
Extended works outside a trading site have effects worth documenting as they happen.
Sections 73.091 and 73.092 put reasonable defence costs and attorney fees on the condemning authority.
Section 73.071(3)(b) brings business damages within what a jury may award in defined circumstances. It is one of the most owner favourable features of Florida eminent domain law and has no equivalent in most states.
They include the length of time the business has been established, with more than five years required where the taking occurs on or after 1 January 2005. Check the detail against your own facts with a licensed Florida attorney.
No. Severance damages compensate the reduction in value of the land you keep. Business damages compensate harm to the business operating on it. Both can arise on the same taking.
The position differs between owner occupiers and tenants and the lease terms matter. Take advice on your specific arrangement.
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