California Eminent Domain Report

Our office received notice yesterday afternoon that due to the current fiscal crisis, the Los Angeles County Superior Court is closing Department 59, effective February 22.  Everyone who practices eminent domain in Los Angeles knows about Department 59, the Department designated for eminent domain cases in Los Angeles County. 

Commissioner Mitchell has been handling eminent domain cases in Department 59 for many years, and his knowledge of this unique area of law has made pretrial procedures in Los Angeles run smoother than anywhere else in Southern California.   Even for those attorneys who grew to hate the peculiarities of the onerous local rules for eminent domain in Los Angeles, at least the cases in Department 59 were processed with some consistency and predictability. 

Commencing February 23, things will change.  There will no longer be a designated eminent domain department; pending cases will be reassigned to other courtrooms.  And, presumably, new filings will be assigned along with other general civil filings, to myriad courtrooms. 

We at Nossaman wish Commissioner Mitchell all the best in his new assignment.  (We also wonder what this may mean for the proposed changes to the local rules -- a process Commissioner Mitchell was spearheading.)