Med. Acquisition Co. v. Superior Court of San Diego Cnty.

*318 This eminent domain case presents a novel issue regarding a defendant's postjudgment withdrawal of an increased deposit made by the condemning agency. Below, the condemning agency, Tri-City Healthcare District (Tri-City), made a pretrial deposit of $4.7 million and sought to take immediate possession of the subject *656 property, a partially completed medical building. Medical Acquisition Company, Inc. (MAC) stipulated to Tri-City's possession of the building and withdrew the $4.7 *319 million deposited under the "quick-take" provision of the California Constitution (see Cal. Const., art. I, § 19, subd. (a)) and Code of Civil Procedure 1 section 1255.010.

The eminent domain case was consolidated with another case involving a lease between the parties and ultimately proceeded to trial where a jury determined just compensation for the taking was nearly $17 million. The court subsequently ordered Tri-City to increase its deposit by about $12.2 million. Among other procedural maneuvers, Tri-City filed a notice of abandonment of the eminent domain proceeding. However, the superior court granted MAC's motion to set aside the abandonment. Tri-City has appealed that order in…