Nineteenth-century courts let condemnors offset land-taking compensation against expected project benefits

Evidence

In many places, courts applied the doctrine of “offsetting” values. If a canal company took my land, worth 5,000, it did not necessarily have to pay me 5,000. It could subtract benefits I might get from the canal. So, if the canal raised the value of the rest of my land by $3,000, this would shrink the compensation by this amount. The doctrine, in short, was “no doubt a very large involuntary private subsidy” for public undertakings. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1010

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains ‘offsetting values’ as a working doctrine, useful shared vocabulary for later environmental/eminent-domain material.
• XREF: connects to: Late-nineteenth-century courts functioned as a shield protecting established interests — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3602; Apparent opposites in land law actually served one developmental goal — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1464

Broader Connections

• Late-nineteenth-century courts functioned as a shield protecting established interests #exemplifies (0.85) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 3602
• Apparent opposites in land law actually served one developmental goal #exemplifies (0.80) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1464