Others may possess thousands or even millions of dollars of goodwill value. It is very important in eminent domain cases to work only with business appraisers who are experienced in eminent domain valuations. Hiring inexperienced eminent domain counsel or an appraiser inexperienced in eminent domain matters can be a very costly mistake. Thus, a business owner generally must take reasonable steps to try to relocate the business if the relocation would result in retention of all or some of the business' goodwill value. However, it should be noted that even if a business is relocated, it can still suffer a loss of goodwill.
Relocation can result in loss of patronage, loss of income, or higher expenses.
California courts have held, for example, that if a business experiences higher expenses at a relocation site, the business may be entitled to a loss of goodwill based on the resulting decline in net income, even if the business loses no patronage at all as a result of the taking. One thing which must be kept in mind in order to protect your rights to recover business losses is that you should avoid providing information about your business income to the condemning agency until after you have consulted with experienced eminent domain counsel. The government must generally pay interest on the amount of any award of just compensation from the earlier of the date it takes possession of the property, or from the date of judgment. The amount of interest is variable, and changes every six months. The amount applicable to any six month period is determined by a procedure set forth in the Eminent Domain Law.