1. Condemnation Guidelines Suggested by the United States Judicial
Conference
- A higher quality of justice to the parties
should be the primary objective.
- Continued improvement in the administration of justice is
needed to meet the increasing demands of our complex society on our
court system. When the quality of justice can be appreciably
improved by uniform guidelines designed to improve and expedite the
processing to finality of federal land condemnation actions, it
should be no answer that some reasonable mechanical effort by one
or more of the parties may be required in order to simplify
procedure and expedite judicial management of the case for the
benefit of all concerned. This is in accordance with the most
recent legislation of Congress on the subject, namely, Title 42,
U.S.C., §§ 4651 and 4655, inclusive, concerning uniform
real property acquisition policy and practices, forbidding certain
prior unjust practices, and requiring individual consideration for
each landowner. Thus, the guidelines should serve the purpose of
assisting in conservation of judicial time, the expediting of the
judicial process, the remova l of confusion and the enhancement of
the quality of justice.
- Fair and accurate statistical credit for the judicial work
performed should be assured.
- The courts are considered for many of their critical needs on
the basis of their statistics particularly those that apply to the
number of cases filed and to the weighted caseload. Regardless of
personal modesty or the indifference of any particular judge to
receiving fair credit for his condemnation caseload, it is,
nevertheless, important in the overall evaluation of the needs of
the courts that fair credit be received in each instance.
PROPOSED STANDARD GUIDELINES
Guideline 1
For each tract, economic unit or ownership for which the just
compensation is required to be separately determined in a total
lump sum, there shall be a separate civil action file opened by the
clerk which shall be given a serial number, as given all other
civil actions. For each such civil action, a separate J.S. 5 card
shall be prepared on filing and a separate J.S. 6 card prepared on
closing of each such separate civil action. The condemnor's counsel
shall make the initial determination of each tract, economic unit
or ownership for which just compensation is required to be
separately determined in a lump sum, subject to review by the court
after filing.
Guideline 2
The file in the civil action containing the first complaint
filed under a single declaration of taking shall be designated as
the Master File for all the civil actions based upon the single
declaration of taking. The numerical designation as the Master File
shall be shown by adding as a suffix to the civil action serial
number the symbol MF. (In the blank shall be inserted a code number
or numbers, selected by the condemnor, designating the project or
projects and the number assigned the declaration of taking with
which the property concerned is connected.) The single declaration
of taking shall be filed in the Master File only. In all other
civil actions for condemnation of property which is the subject of
the declaration of taking, an appropriate reference to the Master
File number in a standard form of complaint shall be deemed to
incorporate in the cause the declaration of taking by reference and
shall be a sufficient filing of the declaration of taking referred
to.
For example, assuming that the civil serial number assigned to
the first complaint under a single declaration of taking is C.A.
72-20,000, that the project number selected by the condemnor is 500
and the declaration of taking is the first in the project, the
Master File Number would be C.A. 72-20,000-MF 500-1.
Guideline 3
For the civil action designated as the Master File, there shall
be a separate complaint. At the option of the condemnor, this
complaint and exhibits shall (1) describe all owners and other
parties affected and all properties that are the subject of the
declaration of taking, or (2) describe only the owner or owners of
the first property or properties in the declaration of taking for
which the issue of just compensation is separately determinable.
Guideline 4
In order to reduce administrative, clerical and secretarial
work, a standard form of complaint (ENRD
Resource Manual at 24), printed, photocopied, mimeographed or
otherwise produced in numbers, may be used for each civil action
filed to condemn a tract, economic unit or ownership for which the
issue of just compensation is required to be determined in a single
lump sum. In the body of the complaint it shall not be necessary to
designate the owner or owners of the property concerned, other
parties affected by the civil action, or to describe the property
concerned in the civil action. The names of the owners and other
parties affected and the description of the property concerned in
the civil action may be set forth in an exhibit or exhibits
incorporated by reference in the standard form of complaint and
attached thereto.
Guideline 5
In any notice or process required or permitted by law or by the
Rules of Civil Procedure (including but not limited to process
under Rule 71A(d), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure), the condemnor
at its option, may combine in a single notice or process, notice or
process in as many separate civil actions as it may choose in the
interest of economy and efficiency. See ENRD Resource Manual at 27.
Guideline 6
A district court should adopt a local rule or general order to
the effect that the filing of a declaration of taking in the Master
File constitutes a filing of the same in each of the actions to
which it relates.
NOTE: An essential element of the Master File system is that the
filing of the declaration of taking in the Master File shall
constitute a filing of the same in each of the separate actions to
which the Master File relates. This is of particular significance
because the Declaration of Taking Act, 40 U.S.C. § 258a,
specifies filing of the declaration of taking "in the cause." If
the filing of the declaration of taking is defective, the vesting
of the title to the subject property in the United States under the
Act is jeopardized. To ensure that the filing of a pleading in the
Master File will legally constitute a filing in the several related
actions, it is considered necessary that each district court, as
part of the implementation of this system, adopt a local rule of
procedure giving the desired effect to the filing of pleadings in
the Master File. The following language for such a rule is
suggested:
Where the United States files separate condemnation actions and
a single declaration of taking relating to those separate actions,
the clerk is authorized to establish a Master File in which the
declaration of taking may be filed, and the filing of the
declaration of taking therein shall constitute a filing of the same
in each of the actions to which it relates.
Guideline 7
A district court may adopt a local rule or general order that,
unless otherwise ordered, all issues of just compensation involved
in a single declaration of taking shall be consolidated for a joint
hearing and trial.
CONCLUSION
Since the Department of Justice is voluntarily cooperating with
the courts in seeking an appropriate and workable solution on the
subject to the end that the administration of justice will be both
improved and expedited, the district courts, in return, should be
careful not to apply these guidelines in any particular situation
so as to unnecessarily burden the Department of Justice. These
guidelines should be applied so as to expedite justice to all
parties.
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