In a recent trial, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, Demorest Law Firm, PLLC was able to secure a jury verdict of $1,976,820.00 for our client, HRT Enterprises. This is our third multi-million-dollar verdict against the City of Detroit in inverse condemnation cases.
We originally filed this inverse condemnation lawsuit on behalf of our client in 2012. Inverse condemnation cases typically arise when a government agency has taken action against a landowner or a property to prevent the property from being used or developed, but the government has not formally filed eminent domain (condemnation) proceedings.
In this case, our client owned property adjacent to the Coleman A. Young Municipal Airport (formerly the Detroit City Airport). In 2015, the late Judge Avern Cohn ruled that the City had inversely condemned HRT’s property. The date of the taking was determined to be January 1, 2009, in a trial held in April 2019. A second trial was held in August 2022 to determine the value of the property as of January 1, 2009. Based on the evidence at trial, the jury found that the City must pay HRT $1,976,820.00 for the property.
This case was stayed several years due to the City of Detroit’s bankruptcy. Demorest Law Firm will continue to fight for its client’s rights regardless of how long it takes.
Please contact us if you have questions, or if you believe that a government agency has inversely condemned your property.
