WRONGFUL CONDEMNATIONS BY THE PA TURNPIKE COMMISSION
The FIFTH AMENDMENT provides: No person shall... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Since 2012, the PA Turnpike Commission continues to aggressively acquire Property, Homes and Businesses in the path of the Southern Beltway without providing Relocation Assistance, Replacement Houses and Business Relocation Benefits, otherwise known as Just Compensation. Their strategy is simple:
1. Use teams of Professional Services Consultants (Attorneys, Appraisers, Engineers, R/W Agents, Relocation Specialists and Negotiators to provide artificially low Appraisals that do not reflect “Fair Market Value” as required by Bulletin 47 and the Eminent Domain Code. Appraisals are not being performed IAW Chapter 2 Pub. 378.
2. Find No Replacement Houses or Business Properties as required by Bulletin 47 for property owners to relocate to (as required by Paragraph 3. REPLACEMENT HOUSING SUPPLEMENT Bulletin 47) under the guise that no replacement homes are available. In many cases, property owners are instructed to construct a new home, initiate a new mortgage and submit their construction invoices for reimbursement by the PTC. In many other cases, property owners are required to initiate a new mortgage to purchase a “comparable” property.
3. When Property Owners contest the amount of compensation being offered, the PTC Wrongfully Condemns the property forcing property owners into Court with only a $4000 allowance to fight for Just Compensation. The first step is to force Condemnees to a Board of View where the Property Owner’s attorney’s fees are not reimbursable. This places the PO in a “No Win” situation and it’s no wonder why most Condemnees settle before having to go to Court.
Then, to maintain pressure on the property owner to settle without Just Compensation, the PTC appeals the BOV verdict usually forcing the property owner to a Jury Trial in which the PTC spends hundreds of thousand dollars defending their artificially low appraisals. “The jury’s verdict or the judge’s opinion is considered final”, at least according to the PTC’s Guide to Relocation. However in extreme cases (such as the Cservak’s case) the PTC has appealed the Washington County Jury Verdict to Commonwealth Court where the Cservaks were told by their Attorney that they “had” to settle, which they did.
At each step, the Turnpike pays Attorneys, Appraisers, Engineers, R/W Agents, Relocation Specialists and Negotiators hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight property owners in court rather than treat them fairly.
