Fixel Law Firm represents Florida property owners and businesses impacted by eminent domain - condemnation. It is one of only a handful of Florida firms to restrict its practice to eminent domain - condemnation, and that is a key distinguishing strength of Fixel Law Firm.
Over the span of four decades, Fixel Law Firm attorneys have handled in excess of 2,000 impacted parcels for property owners and affected businesses.
Fixel Law Firm's wealth of experience has included the representation of a variety of property owners and businesses whose property is sought to be acquired by condemning authorities.
Firm clients have included owners of all types of property. Examples of firm clients' property uses include: agricultural tracts, apartment complexes, billboards, car dealerships, concrete block and ready mix plants, churches, condominiums, convenience stores, development tracts, fast food stores, financial institutions, groves, homeowners' associations, industrial plants, insurance agencies, lumber operations, medical facilities, mobile home parks, mobile homes sales centers, motels, office buildings, petroleum marketers, plant nurseries, recycling plants, repair shops, retail stores, restaurants, service stations, shopping centers, single family residences, subdivisions, telecommunications facilities, and vacant land.
Fixel Law Firm has represented these clients throughout Florida. Lawyers from Fixel Law Firm have handled eminent domain - condemnation cases in nearly every Florida county, including: Alachua, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, Dade, DeSoto, Duval, Escambia, Flager, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington.
In these counties, Fixel Law Firm has represented clients whose property has been acquired by numerous condemning authorities, including cities, counties, school boards, utility companies, expressway authorities, the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the federal government.
For affected parcels handled by Fixel Law Firm, the client will be the decision maker. Fixel Law Firm's role will be to use its decades of eminent domain experience to analyze, advise, recommend, and advocate for the client.
Fixel Law Firm's objective is to obtain the most desirable result for each client. That may mean obtaining non-monetary solutions, such as preventing the taking from occurring, the alteration of construction plans to preserve suitable access, modifying rights of way, and restoring adequate drainage facilities.
In addition to exploring non-monetary solutions, Fixel Law Firm's objective is to obtain full compensation for each client.
Full compensation includes:
- The value of the property taken;
- Damages to remainder property; and
- Where applicable, business damages.
Without an experienced eminent domain team, like the one at Fixel Law Firm, property owners and affected businesses can easily fall victim to common pitfalls created by condemning authorities' plans. As just one example, most serious and permanent harmful impacts to remaining property will not be revealed or noticed until the public project is built and completed. These harmful impacts can include unfavorable drainage consequences, driveway connection problems, and detrimental changes in elevation between the roadway and a property.
If these harmful impacts to remaining property are not taken into account before settlement, it is unlikely that the condemning authority will ever acknowledge, adequately address, or pay for these damages.
Fully taking into account harmful impacts to remaining property and businesses is one place where Fixel Law Firm, together with its team of experienced eminent domain experts and consultants, can assist the property owner or affected business.
One final and important objective of Fixel Law Firm is to secure for its clients a written enforceable right to claim additional damages in the event the condemning authority builds something different than it has represented it plans to build. Securing this right ensures that Fixel Law Firm's clients' interests are protected after a resolution is reached.
