The cost of fighting multiple court battles tied to the District government’s use of eminent domain in the area of the new Washington Nationals’ ballpark is quickly piling up.
An emergency resolution introduced this week in the D.C. Council seeks authority to pay law firm Venable LLP up to $3.8 million over the next two years “in support of the District’s eminent domain litigationto determine the amount of just compensation due to the owners of parcels of land on the ballpark site.” The original contract with Venable, which took effect Oct. 17, 2005, was for one year plus four one-year options, each worth no more than $950,000.
The District government used its eminent domain authority to seize dozens of parcels, most industrial or vacant, for the stadium project. Today, the ballpark is nearing completion and D.C. is still in court wrestling with 17 land owners in two separate lawsuits over what the city should pay for those properties.
“Uninterrupted continuation of legal services by Venable through trial is required to best protect the interests of the District in this case involving multiple parties,” states the resolution, introduced at the request of Mayor Adrian Fenty.
Venable’s fees for the first year totaled $945,762, and the contract was renewed as of Oct. 17, 2006 for a second year. But the deal has since turned costly, due in large part to a drawn-out discovery process featuring a disagreement over anticipated land values, according to officials in the D.C. attorney general’s office.
Between Oct. 17 and March 6, Venable charged the District $1.25 million, and the city expects the firm’s fees could climb as high as $2.2 million before the contract year is out. For the second option year, Fenty wants the option of paying Venable another $1.6 million.
Mounting legal fees come as no surprise, said Council Member Kwame Brown, chairman of the economic development committee. But the charges, he said, should have no impact on the $611 million stadium cap.
