JUST COMPENSATION
Equitable remuneration to the owner of private property that is expropriated for public use through condemnation, the implementation of the
governmental power of EMINENT DOMAIN.
The FIFTH AMENDMENT to the U.S. Consti-
tution proscribes the taking of private property
by the government for public use without just
compensation. No precise formula exists by
which the elements of just compensation can be
calculated. Ordinarily, the amount should be
based upon the loss to the owner, as opposed to
the gain by the taker. The owner should be fairly
and fully indemnified for the damage that he or
she has sustained. The owner has a right to
recover the monetary equivalent of the property
taken and is entitled to be put in as good a finan-
cial position as he or she would have been in if
the property had not been taken. Generally, the
measure of damages for property condemned
through eminent domain is its fair market value,
since the sentimental value to the owner is not
an element for consideration. Market value,
however, is not an absolute method of valuation
but rather a practical standard to aid the courts
in their determination of just compensation
based upon constitutional requirements.
When just compensation is assessed, all ele-
ments that can appropriately enter into the
question of value are regarded. For example,
the original cost of the property taken, added to
the cost of reproduction or replacement, minus
depreciation, can be considered when the mar-
