Warehouse II, LLC v. State Department of Transportation

¶ 1. This case requires us to decide whether Wis. Stat. § 32.28(3) (b) (2003-04)1 entitles a successful condemnee to litigation expenses when the basis for the circuit court ruling in its favor is that the condemnor failed to negotiate in good faith before issuing the jurisdictional offer.2 Good faith negotiation prior to issuing a jurisdictional offer to purchase3 is not merely a technical obligation, but rather, it is a fundamental, statutory requirement necessary to validly commence condemnation and confer jurisdiction on the condemnation commission and the courts. Therefore, because it is…