Complaint
Sec. 4. (a) If the person seeking to acquire the property does not
agree with the owner of an interest in the property or with the
guardian of an owner concerning the damages sustained by the
owner, the person seeking to acquire the property may file a
complaint for that purpose with the clerk of the circuit court of the
county where the property is located.
(b) The complaint must state the following:
(1) The name of the person seeking to acquire the property.
This person shall be named as the plaintiff.
(2) The names of all owners, claimants to, and holders of liens
on the property, if known, or a statement that they are unknown.
These owners, claimants, and holders of liens shall be named as
defendants.
(3) The use the plaintiff intends to make of the property or right
sought to be acquired.
(4) If a right-of-way is sought, the location, general route,
width, and the beginning and end points of the right-of-way.
(5) A specific description of each piece of property sought to be
acquired and whether the property includes the whole or only
part of the entire parcel or tract. If property is sought to be
acquired by the state or by a county for a public highway or by
a municipal corporation for a public use and the acquisition
confers benefits on any other property of the owner, a specific
description of each piece of property to which the plaintiff
alleges the benefits will accrue. Plats of property alleged to be
affected may accompany the descriptions.
(6) That the plaintiff has been unable to agree for the purchase
of the property with the owner, owners, or guardians, as the
case may be, or that the owner is mentally incompetent or less
than eighteen (18) years of age and has no legally appointed
guardian, or is a nonresident of Indiana.
(c) All parcels lying in the county and required for the same
public use, whether owned by the same parties or not, may be
included in the same or separate proceedings at the option of the
plaintiff. However, the court may consolidate or separate the
proceedings to suit the convenience of parties and the ends of justice.
The filing of the complaint and a lis pendens notice in any eminent
domain action under this article constitutes notice of proceedings to
all subsequent purchasers and persons taking encumbrances of the
property, who are bound by the notice.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.9. Amended by P.L.81-2004, SEC.26.
Last modified: May 24, 2006