United States v. 4.18 Acres of Land, More or Less, Situate in Idaho County, State of Idaho, and Scott Stanford Harris

The United States commenced this action on June 3, 1974, to condemn 4.18 acres of land in Idaho County, Idaho. The district court dismissed the action without prejudice as premature because the United States Forest Service had not complied prior to commencing the action, with regulations published by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation under the National Historic Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C. § 470 et seq. (1970), as amended (Supp. V, 1975). This defect was cured by the Forest Service as of February 20, 1975, while the proceeding was still pending in the district court. The sole issue presented on appeal is whether appellants are entitled to attorneys’ fees and other expenses by virtue of section 304(a) of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4654 (a) (1970), which provides:

The district court held that attorneys’ fees and other expenses could not be awarded under section 304(a)(1) because “[i]t is not the final judgment of this Court that the Forest Service cannot acquire the real property by condemnation, only that the decision to condemn, the Declaration of Taking and the Complaint were premature.” The court…