Mayor and City of Frederick v. Hargett Farm Development, LLC
N/AOUTCOME: Summary Judgment in favor of The City of Frederick
In January 2009, the Circuit Court for Frederick County, Maryland granted our Motion for Summary Judgment in favor of The City of Frederick on the legal issues of the City's entitlement to condemn, pub ... lic use and necessity, leaving fair market value as the only issue to be decided at trial in March 2009. The City exercised its eminent domain authority after its efforts to buy the property in 2007 were rejected by the developer-owner. The City plans to build a public park on the property and to re-align a dangerous roadway intersection. The Court rejected the developer's arguments that the City was required to obtain Planning Commission approval of its project before filing the condemnation action and that the date of valuation should be the date of the City's initial offer to purchase, rather than the date of trial. The case was unique because it involved the taking of a planned neighborhood development (PND) while the developer was in the process of securing the necessary government approvals.
