{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1203","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 69, § 69-1203","heading":"Acquisition of lands or interests by purchase, donation","body":"or condemnation\n\n(a) The Department shall have authority to acquire in fee\n\nsimple in the name of the State of Oklahoma, by purchase, donation\n\nor condemnation, lands or such interests therein as in its\n\ndiscretion may be necessary for the purpose of establishing,\n\nconstructing and maintaining state highways or relocations thereof,\n\nand facilities necessary or incident thereto, including borrow\n\nareas, channel changes and deposits of rock, gravel, sand and other\n\nroad building material for use in highway construction and\n\nmaintenance. Such acquisition may be for immediate or future use.\n\nThe Department may acquire reasonable amounts of land adjacent to\n\nits normal right-of-way for the purpose of screening unsightly areas\n\nadjacent to highways, landscaping safety rest areas and scenic\n\noverlook areas.\n\n(b) In determining the amount of land required, or width of\n\nright-of-way necessary for such state highways, the Department shall\n\ntake into consideration the present and probable future needs in\n\nconnection with maintaining and reconstructing the highways, and the\n\nprevention of traffic congestion and hazards.\n\n(c) Except in instances where there are nonresident owners,\n\nunknown heirs, imperfect titles and owners whose whereabouts cannot\n\nbe ascertained with reasonable diligence, the Department shall give\n\nthe owner an opportunity to sell the necessary lands or interests\n\ntherein to the State of Oklahoma before resort to condemnation may\n\nbe had. The Department may condemn such lands or interests therein\n\nin the following manner:\n\nThe district judge of the county in which the real property may\n\nbe situated, upon petition of either party, and after ten (10) days'\n\nnotice to the opposite party, either by personal service or by\n\nleaving a copy thereof at his usual place of residence with some\n\nmember of his family over fifteen (15) years of age, or, in the case\n\nof nonresidents, unknown heirs or other persons whose whereabouts\n\ncannot be ascertained, by publication in two issues of a newspaper\n\nin general circulation in the county (the ten-day period to begin\n\nwith the first publication), shall direct the sheriff of the county\n\nto summon three disinterested freeholders, to be selected by the\n\njudge as commissioners, and who shall not be interested in a like\n\nquestion. The commissioners shall be sworn to perform their duties\n\nimpartially and justly; and they shall inspect the real property and\n\nconsider the injury which the owner may sustain by reason of the\n\ncondemnation, and they shall assess the just compensation to which\n\nthe owner is entitled; and they shall forthwith make a report in\n\nwriting to the clerk of the court, setting forth the quantity,\n\nboundaries and just compensation for the property taken, and amount\n\nof injury done to the property, either directly or indirectly, which\n\nthey assess to the owner, which report must be filed and recorded by\n\nthe clerk. A certified copy of the report may be transmitted to the\n\ncounty clerk of the county where the land lies, to be filed and\n\nrecorded by the county clerk (without further acknowledgment or\n\nproof) in the same manner and with like force and effect as is\n\nprovided for the recording of deeds. The procedure for service by\n\npublication as authorized herein shall be the same as provided by\n\nlaw for service by publication in civil actions, except summons need\n\nnot be issued and served, and except as otherwise provided herein.\nrecorded by the county clerk (without further acknowledgment or\n\nproof) in the same manner and with like force and effect as is\n\nprovided for the recording of deeds. The procedure for service by\n\npublication as authorized herein shall be the same as provided by\n\nlaw for service by publication in civil actions, except summons need\n\nnot be issued and served, and except as otherwise provided herein.\n\n(d) Immediately upon payment to the clerk of the court for the\n\nuse of the owner the sum so assessed and reported to the court clerk\n\nas aforesaid, the Department shall thereby be authorized to enter\n\nupon the condemned premises, and remove and dispose of any\n\nobstructions thereon, by sale or otherwise. If the landowner shall\n\nrefuse to deliver up possession to the Department, the court shall\n\nissue an order to the sheriff of the county to place the Department\n\nin possession thereof.\n\n(e) (1) The report of commissioners may be reviewed by the\n\ndistrict court, on written exceptions filed by either party in the\n\nclerk's office within thirty (30) days after the filing of such\n\nreport, and the court, after hearing had, shall make such order\n\ntherein as right and justice may require, either by confirmation,\n\nrejection or by ordering a new appraisement on good cause shown.\n\nProvided, that in the event a new appraisement is ordered, the\n\nDepartment shall have the continuing right of possession obtained\n\nunder the first appraisal, unless and until its right to condemn has\n\nfinally been determined otherwise; or either party may within sixty\n\n(60) days after the filing of such report file with the clerk a\n\nwritten demand for a trial by jury, in which case the amount of\n\ndamages shall be assessed by a jury, and the trial shall be\n\nconducted and judgment entered in the same manner as civil actions\n\nin the district court. If the party demanding such trial does not\n\nrecover a verdict more favorable to the party than the assessment of\n\nthe commissioners, all costs in the district court shall be taxed\n\nagainst the party. No owner upon whom proper service by publication\n\nhas been had, as provided in this title, shall be let in to defend\n\nafter expiration of time for appeal or review of the report of\n\ncommissioners as above provided has elapsed. Provided, that if,\n\nafter the filing of exceptions to the report of commissioners as\n\nhereinafter provided, the Department shall fail to establish its\n\nright to condemn such premises, or any part thereof, the landowner\n\nshall be restored to possession of the premises, or part thereof,\n\nand the Department shall pay for any damages sustained through the\n\noccupation by the Department, and if such damages cannot be\n\ndetermined by amicable settlement they shall be determined by jury\n\ntrial in the same proceedings.\npartment shall fail to establish its\n\nright to condemn such premises, or any part thereof, the landowner\n\nshall be restored to possession of the premises, or part thereof,\n\nand the Department shall pay for any damages sustained through the\n\noccupation by the Department, and if such damages cannot be\n\ndetermined by amicable settlement they shall be determined by jury\n\ntrial in the same proceedings.\n\n(2) Within ten (10) days after the Report of Commissioners is\n\nfiled, the court clerk shall forward to the attorney of record for\n\nthe condemnor, the attorney of record for each condemnee, and to all\n\nunrepresented condemnees, a copy of the commissioners' report and a\n\nnotice, stating the time limits for filing an exception or demand\n\nfor jury trial as specified in paragraph (A) of Section 55 of Title\n\n66 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The attorney of record for the\n\ncondemnor shall provide the clerk of the court with the names and\n\nlast-known addresses of the parties to whom notice and the report of\n\nthe commissioners shall be mailed, sufficient copies of the notice\n\nand report to be mailed, and pre-addressed, postage-paid envelopes.\n\nThis notice shall be on a form prepared by the Court Administrator,\n\nwhich shall be approved by the Supreme Court, and shall be\n\ndistributed to all clerks of the district court by the Court\n\nAdministrator. If a party has been served by publication, the clerk\n\nshall forward a copy of the report of commissioners and notice of\n\ntime limits for filing an exception or demand for jury trial to the\n\nlast-known mailing address, if any, and shall cause a copy of the\n\nnotice of time limits to be published in one issue of a newspaper\n\nqualified to publish legal notices, as defined in Section 106 of\n\nTitle 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes. After issuing the notices\n\nprovided herein the court clerk shall endorse on the notice form\n\nfiled in the case the date and that a copy of the report together\n\nwith the notice form filed in the case was forwarded to each\n\ncondemnee and each attorney of record, or the date the notice was\n\npublished in compliance with the provisions hereof.\n\n(3) The time limits for filing an exception and demand for jury\n\ntrial, as prescribed in paragraph (A) of Section 55 of Title 66 of\n\nthe Oklahoma Statutes, shall be calculated from the date the report\n\nof the commissioners is filed in the case. On failure of the court\n\nclerk to give notice within the time prescribed in paragraph (B) of\n\nSection 55 of Title 66 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the court, on\n\napplication of any party, may extend the time for filing an\n\nexception to the report, or a demand for trial by jury for a period\n\nnot to exceed twenty (20) days from the date the application is\n\nheard.\n\n(f) Either party aggrieved may appeal to the Supreme Court from\n\nthe decision of the district court on exceptions to the report of\n\ncommissioners, or jury trial; but such review or appeal shall not\n\ndelay the prosecution of the work on such highway over the premises\n\nin question if the award of commissioners, or jury, as the case may\n\nbe, has been deposited with the clerk for such owner, and in no case\n\nshall the Department be liable for the costs on such review or\n\nappeal unless the owner of the real property shall be adjudged\n\nentitled, upon either review or appeal, to a greater amount of\n\ndamages than was awarded by the commissioners. The Department shall\n\nin all cases pay the cost of the commissioners' fees and expenses,\n\nfor their services, as determined and ordered paid by the judge of\n\nthe district court in which such case is pending, however, poundage\n\nfees and condemnation fees shall only be paid by the Department in\n\nthe event of appeal resulting in a jury verdict in excess of the\n\ncommissioners' award, but under no circumstances shall any poundage\n\nfees or condemnation fees be assessed against the recipient of the\n\naward. And in case of review or appeal, a certified copy of the\ndistrict court in which such case is pending, however, poundage\n\nfees and condemnation fees shall only be paid by the Department in\n\nthe event of appeal resulting in a jury verdict in excess of the\n\ncommissioners' award, but under no circumstances shall any poundage\n\nfees or condemnation fees be assessed against the recipient of the\n\naward. And in case of review or appeal, a certified copy of the\n\nfinal order or judgment shall be transmitted by the clerk of the\n\ncourt, duly certified, to the proper county clerk, to be filed and\n\nrecorded as hereinabove provided for the recording of the report,\n\nand with like effect.\n\n(g) When an estate is being probated, or a minor or incompetent\n\nperson has a legal guardian, the administrator or executor of the\n\nestate, or guardian of the minor or incompetent person, shall have\n\nthe authority to execute all instruments of conveyance provided for\n\nin this title on behalf of the estate, minor or incompetent person\n\nwithout other proceedings than approval by the judge of the district\n\ncourt endorsed on the instrument of conveyance.\n\n(h) \"Just compensation\", as used in this section, shall mean\n\nthe value of the property taken, and in addition, any injury to any\n\npart of the property not taken. Any special and direct benefits to\n\nthe part of the property not taken may be offset only against any\n\ninjury to the property not taken. If only a part of a tract is\n\ntaken, just compensation shall be ascertained by determining the\n\ndifference between the fair market value of the whole tract\n\nimmediately before the taking and the fair market value of that\n\nportion left remaining immediately after the taking.\n\n(i) In the event that the determination of just compensation of\n\na property is less than the commissioners' award for such real\n\nproperty, any mortgagee or lien holder who received payment from the\n\ncommissioners' award in an amount in excess of the finding of just\n\ncompensation value of the real property taken will only be liable\n\nfor and required to pay back to the condemnor no more than the\n\ndifference between what was actually received by the mortgagee or\n\nlien holder from the commissioners' award and the jury's just\n\ncompensation value. In all respects a mortgagee or lien holder will\n\nonly be liable to return to the condemnor any sums actually paid to\n\nand received by such party in excess of the determination of just\n\ncompensation for the real property. The mortgagor would be and\n\nremain liable to the mortgagee or lien holder for the excess that is\n\npaid by the mortgagee or lienholder to the condemning authority.","path":["OK Code","Title 69"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os69.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"d69a4d1e029524b8b2eb027bfbc76cbd931a1d59128582dde9065597188dc447","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1202","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1204"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}