Rule 86.06.Appointment of Commissioners--Duties of--Standard for Damages.

Part III · Rule 86: Condemnation Proceedings · Last amended September 28, 1993 · Last verified July 22, 2026

In one sentenceRule 86.06 governs the appointment of three disinterested commissioners who assess condemnation damages and benefits, sets the valuation date, describes their report and its recording, and addresses payment, possession, and abandonment of the taking.

Full Text of Rule 86.06

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The court, or judge thereof in vacation, on being satisfied that due notice of the pendency of the petition has been given, shall appoint three disinterested commissioners, who shall be freeholders, resident of the county in which the real estate or a part thereof is situated, to assess the damages that the owners may severally sustain by reason of such appropriation. The value of the property being condemned and all benefits and damages shall be assessed by said commissioners as of the date the assessment is made, and, if the award of said commissioners has not been paid to the defendants, or to the clerk of the court for said defendants, within one year after said commissioners’ award is filed, any subsequent assessment of values, benefits and damages shall be as of the date of such subsequent assessment. The commissioners, after having viewed the property, shall forthwith return, under oath, to the clerk of the court their report in duplicate setting forth, and stating separately as to all property held under the same ownership (1) the amount of net damages, if any, together with (2) a separate description of the property for which the damages are assessed. The clerk shall file one of said copies in the clerk’s office and cause the other to be delivered to the recorder for the county where the property lies, who shall record the same in the recorder’s office and shall enter in the abstract and index of deeds at the proper place in the grantor’s column the respective names of the first persons alleged to claim, or through whom is claimed some title to each of such respective separately described properties, and the fee for said recording shall be taxed by the clerk as costs of the proceedings. When condemnation proceedings are brought in connection with a project to supply water to any city, town or village, the commissioners or jury shall inquire, and make report as to the value of the use of the stream, or the diversion of the waters thereof, to the extent to which the plaintiff proposes to use it, or to divert them, or what damage will be done by the erection and maintenance of any dam or buildings that it is proposed to erect and maintain in connection with aforesaid supplying of water, specifically stating to whom and upon what account damages are awarded. When private property is appropriated by a municipality for any public place or use, resulting benefits shall be assessed against the municipality for the amount of the benefit to the public generally, and the balance of the benefits shall be assessed against the owner or owners having land within the benefit limits set by the municipality, which land shall be especially benefited by the proposed improvement, to the proportion that each lot of said owners shall be benefited. Upon making payment to the clerk of the amount assessed, for the party or parties in whose favor such damages have been assessed, it shall be lawful for the condemner to take possession and hold the interest in the property so appropriated for the uses aforesaid; and, upon failure to pay the assessment aforesaid within ten days after it becomes final or, in the case of a municipality, within thirty days thereafter, the court may, upon motion and notice by the party entitled to such damages, enforce the payment of the same by execution, unless the condemner shall, within said ten or thirty day period, elect to abandon the proposed appropriation of any property, by an instrument in writing to that effect, to be filed with the clerk of such court and entered on the minutes of the court, and to so much as is thus abandoned the assessment of damages shall be void. If such appropriation be so abandoned as to any property, proceedings for the condemnation of the same property shall not be instituted again within two years after such abandonment. The report of the commissioners, when signed by two of said commissioners, shall be taken and considered as the report of all.

End

Amendment History

Amended March 13, 1961, eff. Nov. 1, 1961; Amended Sept. 28, 1993, eff. Jan. 1, 1993.

Official Comment

Note: New. Compare: Section 523.040, RSMo 1959.

Plain-English Summary

Once the court is satisfied that owners have received proper notice, Rule 86.06 requires it to appoint three disinterested commissioners, each a freeholder residing in the county where the property lies. Their job is to assess the damages each owner may suffer because of the taking. Values, benefits, and damages are assessed as of the date the commissioners make their assessment — and if the award goes unpaid for more than a year, a later reassessment is measured as of that later date instead.

After viewing the property, the commissioners must promptly file a sworn report in duplicate, stating the net damages for each separately owned tract and describing that property. The clerk files one copy and sends the other to the county recorder, who records it and indexes it under the names of the persons who appear to hold title. Special provisions apply to water-supply projects, where the commissioners must also report the value of using or diverting a stream and any damage from dams or related structures, and to municipal takings for public places, where benefits are split between the municipality — for the public's general benefit — and nearby landowners who are specially benefited.

Once the condemnor pays the assessed amount to the clerk, it may take possession of the property for the stated public use. If the condemnor instead fails to pay within ten days after the assessment becomes final — thirty days for a municipality — the party owed damages can ask the court to enforce payment by execution, unless the condemnor formally abandons the taking within that window. An abandoned taking cannot be attempted again for the same property for two years. Finally, a report signed by two of the three commissioners counts as the report of all three.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who serves as a condemnation commissioner in Missouri?

Three disinterested commissioners, each a freeholder residing in the county where the real estate or part of it is located.

As of what date are damages and benefits valued?

As of the date the commissioners make their assessment, unless the award goes unpaid for more than a year, in which case a later reassessment is valued as of the later date.

What happens to the commissioners' report after it is filed?

The clerk files one copy and forwards the other to the county recorder, who records it and indexes it under the names of those who appear to hold title to the affected property.

Can the condemnor take possession of the property before the case is fully resolved?

Yes. Once the condemnor pays the assessed amount to the clerk, it may take possession and hold the property for the stated public use.

What if the condemnor never pays the commissioners' assessed damages?

The party owed damages may ask the court to enforce payment by execution, unless the condemnor formally abandons the taking within ten days (or thirty for a municipality) after the assessment becomes final.

Can a condemnor try again after abandoning a taking?

Not for two years. Rule 86.06 bars a new condemnation proceeding on the same property for two years after an abandonment.

Do all three commissioners need to sign the report?

No. A report signed by two of the three commissioners is treated as the report of all three.

Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Missouri State & Federal Court Rules, adopted by the Supreme Court of Missouri. Last verified July 22, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: condemnation commissionersassessment of damages eminent domaincommissioners reportbenefit assessment municipalityabandonment of condemnation