Legal Definitions - condemnation money

Condemnation money refers to funds paid under two distinct legal circumstances:

1. Payments ordered by a court as a result of a legal judgment against a party that has lost a lawsuit. These payments are intended to compensate the winning party for damages or losses suffered.
2. Compensation provided by a government entity to a private landowner when the government exercises its power of eminent domain to acquire private property for public use.

Here are some examples illustrating these applications:

• Example 1 (Court-Ordered Damages):

  Imagine a small business owner sues a supplier for delivering faulty materials that caused significant production delays and financial losses. After a trial, the court finds the supplier responsible for breaching their contract and orders them to pay the business owner a specific sum to cover the lost profits and additional expenses incurred.

  How it illustrates the term: The amount the supplier is legally compelled to pay the business owner as a result of the court's judgment is considered condemnation money. It represents the damages the losing party (the supplier) was "condemned" or ordered by the court to pay.

• Example 2 (Eminent Domain Compensation):

  A state transportation department plans to widen a major highway to improve traffic flow. To do so, they need to acquire a strip of land from several private properties bordering the existing road. The department contacts the affected landowners and offers them what it determines to be fair market value for the portions of their land needed for the project.

  How it illustrates the term: The compensation paid by the state transportation department to the private landowners for taking their property for the highway expansion is condemnation money. This payment is made by the government entity exercising its power of eminent domain to acquire private land for a public purpose.