Am I entitled to recover fees and costs, including attorney’s fees for my condemnation lawsuit?

Unfortunately for nearly all condemnation cases filed by government or utility companies, North Carolina law does not provide for recovery of attorney’s fees, expert witness fees, or other litigation expenses or costs in eminent domain matters.  There are three exceptions to this general rule which are based upon statute: (1) if the landowner is forced to file an inverse condemnation lawsuit (i.e. when the government takes your property without filing the proper paperwork to do so); (2) if a court determines a condemnor does not have authority to take the landowner’s property (rare), the landowner is entitled to recover fees and cost incurred; or (3) if a condemnor abandons the taking (which is also rare and allowed only in certain instances).