§ 505. Hearing on proposed taking; judgment; appeal and stay
(a) Hearing.
(1) If a timely answer is filed denying the necessity of a taking or the public purpose
of the project, the court shall schedule a final hearing to determine the contested
issues, which shall be held within 90 days of expiration of the deadline for filing
an answer by the last interested person served. Absent good cause shown, the final
hearing date shall not be postponed beyond the 90-day period.
(2) At the hearing, the Agency shall present evidence on any contested issue.
(3)(A) The court shall presume that the Agency’s determination of the necessity for and public
purpose of a project is correct, unless a party demonstrates bad faith or abuse of
discretion on the part of the Agency.
(B) The court shall review de novo the Agency’s determination of the need to take a particular
property and to take it to the extent proposed.
(b) Discovery. Absent a showing of unfair prejudice, the right to discovery on the issues of necessity
and public purpose shall be limited to the plans, surveys, studies, reports, data,
decisions, and analyses relating to approving and designing the highway project.
(c) Judgment. If the court finds a proposed taking lawful, it shall issue a judgment of condemnation
describing the property authorized to be taken, declaring the right of the Agency
to take the property by eminent domain, and declaring that title to the property will
be transferred to the Agency after the Agency, in accordance with section 506 of this
chapter, has recorded the judgment, tendered or deposited payment, and notified the
owner of the recording and payment. The court may in its judgment modify the extent
of a proposed taking.
(d) Litigation expenses.
(1) If the court finds a proposed taking to be unlawful, or if the Agency abandons the
condemnation proceeding other than under a settlement, the court shall dismiss the
complaint and award the property owner his or her costs and reasonable litigation
expenses, including reasonable attorney, appraisal, and engineering fees actually
incurred because of the proceeding.
(2) If the court issues a judgment of condemnation that substantially reduces the scope
of the Agency’s proposed taking, the court shall award the property owner a share
of his or her costs and reasonable litigation expenses that is proportional to the
reduction in the proposed taking.
(e) Appeal, stay. A judgment of condemnation may be appealed or stayed as a final judgment for possession
of real estate under the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure and the Vermont Rules of
Appellate Procedure. A judgment that the Agency cannot acquire the property by condemnation
likewise may be appealed. (Added 1985, No. 269 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1999, No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. May 29, 2000; 2011, No. 126 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)