Sec. 21.0195.  DISMISSAL OF CERTAIN CONDEMNATION PROCEEDINGS;  TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.  (a)  This section applies only to the dismissal of a condemnation proceeding that involves the Texas Department of Transportation.
(b)  The department may move to dismiss a proceeding it files, and the court shall conduct a hearing on the motion.  The court may grant the motion only if the court determines that the property owner's interest will not be materially affected by the dismissal.  The department may not dismiss the condemnation proceedings merely to institute new proceedings that involve substantially the same condemnation against the same property owner solely to obtain a lower condemnation award.
(c)  If a court dismisses a condemnation proceeding on the motion of the department or as a result of the failure of the department to bring the proceeding properly, the court shall make an allowance to the property owner for the value of the department's use of the property while in possession of the property, any damage that the condemnation has caused to the property owner, and any expenses the property owner has incurred in connection with the condemnation, including reasonable and necessary fees for attorneys.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1171, Sec. 1.46(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1997.