Rule 71.1.Condemning Real or Personal Property

Group IX: Special Proceedings · Last amended 2017 · Last verified July 14, 2026

In one sentenceRule 71.1 sets the complete procedure for eminent domain condemnation actions in Superior Court — from naming the property and its owners as defendants, through notice by personal service or publication, to the answer, trial on compensation, dismissal, and deposit of condemnation funds.

Full Text of Rule 71.1

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j) (k) (l)

(a) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER RULES. These rules govern proceedings to condemn real and personal property by eminent domain, except as this rule provides otherwise.

(b) JOINDER OF PROPERTIES. The plaintiff may join separate pieces of property in a single action, no matter whether they are owned by the same persons or sought for the same use.

(1) Caption. The complaint must contain a caption as provided in Rule 10(a). The plaintiff must, however, name as defendants both the property—designated generally by kind, quantity, and location—and at least one owner of some part of or interest in the property.

(2) Contents. The complaint must contain a short and plain statement of the following:

(A) the authority for the taking;

(B) the uses for which the property is to be taken;

(D) the interests to be acquired; and

(E) for each piece of property, a designation of each defendant who has been joined as an owner or owner of an interest in it.

(3) Parties. When the action commences, the plaintiff need join as defendants only those persons who have or claim an interest in the property and whose names are then known. But before any hearing on compensation, the plaintiff must add as defendants all those persons who have or claim an interest and whose names have become known or can be found by a reasonably diligent search of the records, considering both the property’s character and value and the interests to be acquired. All others may be made defendants under the designation "Unknown Owners."

(4) Procedure. Notice must be served on all defendants as provided in Rule 71.1(d), whether they were named as defendants when the action commenced or were added later. A defendant may answer as provided in Rule 71.1(e). The court, meanwhile, may order any distribution of a deposit that the facts warrant.

(5) Filing; Additional Copies. In addition to filing the complaint, the plaintiff must give the clerk at least one copy for the defendants’ use and additional copies at the request of the clerk or a defendant.

(d) PROCESS.

(1) Delivering Notice to the Clerk. On filing a complaint, the plaintiff must promptly deliver to the clerk joint or several notices directed to the named defendants. When adding defendants, the plaintiff must deliver to the clerk additional notices directed to the new defendants.

(2) Contents of the Notice.

(A) Main Contents. Each notice must name the court, the title of the action, and the defendant to whom it is directed. It must describe the property sufficiently to identify it, but need not describe any property other than that to be taken from the named defendant. The notice must also state:

(i) that the action is to condemn property;

(ii) the interest to be taken;

(iii) the authority for the taking;

(iv) the uses for which the property is to be taken;

(v) that the defendant may serve an answer on the plaintiff's attorney within 21 days after being served with the notice;

(vi) that the failure to so serve an answer constitutes consent to the taking and to the court’s authority to proceed with the action and fix the compensation; and

(vii) that a defendant who does not serve an answer may file notice of appearance.

(B) Conclusion. The notice must conclude with the name, telephone number, and e-mail address of the plaintiff's attorney and an address within the District of Columbia where the attorney may be served.

(3) Serving the Notice.

(A) Personal Service. When a defendant whose address is known resides within the United States or a territory subject to the administrative or judicial jurisdiction of the United States, personal service of the notice (without a copy of the complaint) must be made in accordance with Rule 4.

(B) Service by Publication.

(i) A defendant may be served by publication only when the plaintiff’s attorney files a certificate stating that the attorney believes the defendant cannot be personally served, because after diligent inquiry, the defendant's place of residence is still unknown or, if known, that it is beyond the territorial limits of personal service. Service is then made by publishing the notice—once a week for at least 3 successive weeks—in a newspaper published in the District of Columbia or, if there is no such newspaper, in a newspaper with general circulation where the property is located. Before the last publication, a copy of the notice must also be mailed to every defendant who cannot be personally served but whose place of residence is then known. Unknown owners may be served by publication in the same manner by a notice addressed to "Unknown Owners".

(ii) Service by publication is complete on the date of the last publication. The plaintiff’s attorney must prove publication and mailing by a certificate, attach a printed copy of the published notice, and mark on the copy the newspaper’s name and the dates of publication.

(4) Effect of Delivery and Service. Delivering the notice to the clerk and serving it have the same effect as serving a summons under Rule 4.

(5) Proof of Service; Amending the Proof or Notice. Rule 4(l) governs proof of service. The court may permit the proof or the notice to be amended.

(e) APPEARANCE OR ANSWER.

(1) Notice of Appearance. A defendant that has no objection or defense to the taking of its property may serve a notice of appearance designating the property in which it claims an interest. The defendant must then be given notice of all later proceedings affecting the defendant.

(2) Answer. A defendant that has an objection or defense to the taking must serve an answer within 21 days after being served with the notice. The answer must:

(A) identify the property in which the defendant claims an interest;

(B) state the nature and extent of the interest; and

(3) Waiver of Other Objections and Defenses; Evidence on Compensation. A defendant waives all objections and defenses not stated in its answer. No other pleading or motion asserting an additional objection or defense is allowed. But at the trial on compensation, a defendant—whether or not it has previously appeared or answered—may present evidence on the amount of compensation to be paid and may share in the award.

(f) AMENDING PLEADINGS. Without leave of court, the plaintiff may—as often as it wants—amend the complaint at any time before the trial on compensation. But no amendment may be made if it would result in a dismissal inconsistent with Rule 71.1(i)(1) or (2). The plaintiff need not serve a copy of an amendment, but must serve notice of the filing, as provided in Rule 5(b), on every affected party who has appeared and, as provided in Rule 71.1(d), on every affected party who has not appeared. In addition, the plaintiff must give the clerk at least one copy of each amendment for the defendants’ use, and additional copies at the request of the clerk or a defendant. A defendant may appear or answer in the time and manner and with the same effect as provided in Rule 71.1(e).

(g) SUBSTITUTING PARTIES. If a defendant dies, becomes incompetent, or transfers an interest after being joined, the court may, on motion and notice of hearing, order that the proper party be substituted. Service of the motion and notice on a nonparty must be made as provided in Rule 71.1(d)(3).

(h) TRIAL OF THE ISSUES. The trial must be conducted pursuant to applicable statutes.

(i) DISMISSAL OF THE ACTION OR A DEFENDANT.

(1) Dismissing the Action.

(A) By the Plaintiff. If no compensation hearing on a piece of property has begun, and if the plaintiff has not acquired title or a lesser interest or taken possession, the plaintiff may, without a court order, dismiss the action as to that property by filing a notice of dismissal briefly describing the property.

(B) By Stipulation. Before a judgment is entered vesting the plaintiff with title or a lesser interest in or possession of property, the plaintiff and affected defendants may, without a court order, dismiss the action in whole or in part by filing a stipulation of dismissal. And if the parties so stipulate, the court may vacate a judgment already entered.

(C) By Court Order. At any time before compensation has been determined and paid, the court may, after a motion and hearing, dismiss the action as to a piece of property. But if the plaintiff has already taken title, a lesser interest, or possession as to any part of it, the court must award compensation for the title, lesser interest, or possession taken.

(2) Dismissing a Defendant. The court may at any time dismiss a defendant who was unnecessarily or improperly joined.

(3) Effect. A dismissal is without prejudice unless otherwise stated in the notice, stipulation, or court order.

(j) DEPOSIT AND ITS DISTRIBUTION.

(1) Deposit. The plaintiff must deposit with the court any money required by law as a condition to the exercise of eminent domain and may make a deposit when allowed by statute.

(2) Distribution; Adjusting Distribution. After a deposit, the court and attorneys must expedite the proceedings so as to distribute the deposit and to determine and pay compensation. If the compensation finally awarded to a defendant exceeds the amount distributed to that defendant, the court must enter judgment against the plaintiff for the deficiency. If the compensation awarded to a defendant is less than the amount distributed to that defendant, the court must enter judgment against that defendant for the overpayment.

(k) [Omitted].

(l) COSTS. Costs are not subject to Rule 54(d).

End

Comment

Former Rule 71A has been redesignated as Rule 71.1 to conform to the renumbering in the federal rules. Rule 71.1 is substantially similar to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 71.1, as amended in 2007 and 2009, but maintains the following local distinctions: 1) a unique section (h); 2) the continued omission of section (k), which relates to a state’s power of eminent domain; and 3) the references to the District of Columbia throughout the rule.

Plain-English Summary

Condemning private property for public use follows its own specialized track, and Rule 71.1 lays that track out from filing to judgment. A single action can join multiple, unrelated pieces of property regardless of common ownership or use. The complaint itself has an unusual structure: it must name the property being taken — described generally by kind, quantity, and location — as a defendant alongside at least one owner of some interest in it, and it must state the authority for the taking, the intended use, a description of the property, the interests being acquired, and which defendant owns or claims an interest in each piece. Only interest holders whose names are already known need be joined when the case is filed, but the plaintiff must add every reasonably discoverable interest holder before any hearing on compensation, with the rest designated collectively as “Unknown Owners.”

Notice runs through the clerk rather than directly from the plaintiff. After filing, the plaintiff delivers notices to the clerk directed at each named defendant, and those notices must describe the property, state that the action seeks condemnation, identify the interest and authority for the taking, and warn the defendant that an answer is due within 21 days and that failing to answer counts as consent to the taking and to the court fixing compensation. Personal service under Rule 4 applies when a defendant's address is known and reachable; when diligent inquiry cannot locate a defendant, service by publication — once a week for at least three successive weeks in a qualifying newspaper — takes its place, paired with mailed notice to anyone whose residence is known even though they cannot be personally served. Delivering and serving the notice carries the same legal effect as serving a summons.

A defendant with no objection to the taking can file a notice of appearance to guarantee notice of later proceedings, without contesting anything. A defendant who does object must answer within 21 days, identifying the claimed interest and stating every objection and defense — anything left out of the answer is waived, and no further pleading or motion can raise it later. Even so, every defendant, answered or not, keeps the right to present evidence on the amount of compensation and to share in the eventual award. The plaintiff, meanwhile, can amend the complaint freely before the compensation trial, and the action or any single piece of property can be dismissed by the plaintiff outright before a taking or possession occurs, by stipulation with affected defendants, or by court order that requires compensating any title or possession already taken.

Money moves through this rule just as carefully as the pleadings do. The plaintiff must deposit with the court whatever funds the law requires as a condition of exercising eminent domain, and the court works to distribute that deposit and finalize compensation as quickly as the case allows. If the compensation finally awarded exceeds what a defendant already received from the deposit, the court enters judgment against the plaintiff for the shortfall; if the award falls short of what was distributed, judgment goes against that defendant for the overpayment. And unlike most civil cases, costs in a condemnation action are not governed by the ordinary costs rule.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the government condemn several separate properties in one lawsuit?

Yes. Rule 71.1(b) allows the plaintiff to join separate pieces of property in a single action, whether or not they are owned by the same people or sought for the same use.

Who has to be named as a defendant in a condemnation complaint?

The property itself, described generally by kind, quantity, and location, plus at least one owner of some part or interest in it. Additional known or discoverable interest holders must be added before any compensation hearing, and anyone else is designated as an “Unknown Owner.”

How is a defendant notified in a condemnation case, and what happens if they don't answer?

Notice is delivered through the clerk and served personally when the defendant's address is known and reachable, or by publication when it is not. The notice warns that an answer is due within 21 days and that failing to answer counts as consenting to the taking and to the court fixing compensation.

If a defendant doesn't file an answer, do they lose the right to argue about compensation?

No. Rule 71.1(e)(3) preserves the right of any defendant, whether or not they appeared or answered, to present evidence on the amount of compensation at trial and to share in the award, even though failing to answer waives objections to the taking itself.

Can the plaintiff back out and dismiss the case after filing it?

Yes, within limits. Before a compensation hearing has begun and before title, a lesser interest, or possession has been taken, the plaintiff can dismiss as to a piece of property just by filing a notice of dismissal. Once title or possession has already been taken, the case can be dismissed only by stipulation or court order, and compensation must still be paid for what was already taken.

Source & verification. Rule text and official Comments are reproduced verbatim from the District of Columbia Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Last verified July 14, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: eminent domain condemnation procedure dccondemnation complaint requirements dcnotice to property owners condemnation dcanswer in a condemnation case dcdeposit and distribution eminent domain