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Minnesota

Mark SavinMark D. Savin
Faegre & Benson, LLP
2200 Wells Fargo Center 90 South Seventh Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Tel:(612) 766-7000 | Fax:(612) 766-1600
Email | www.faegre.com

Minnesota Eminent Domain Attorney
rated by Super Lawyers

Practice Areas

  • Antitrust and Trade Regulation
  • Business Litigation
  • Condemnation
  • Contract and Commercial Claims
  • Eminent Domain
  • Franchise and Distribution Law
  • Litigation
  • Real Estate Litigation
  • Trial Practice
  • Ad Valorem Tax Assessment Appeals
  • Land Use/Zoning/Environmental Review

Experience

Mark Savin is a partner at Faegre & Benson focusing his practice on eminent domain litigation. He has represented corporations, development companies and individuals in condemnation proceedings. He also represents the Metropolitan Airports Commission in the condemnation of commercial properties for the expansion of the Minneapolis - St. Paul Airport and has served as eminent domain counsel to the City of Minnetonka in connection with a large redevelopment project in that city.

Mark has represented numerous property owners in the Twin Cities, including General Mills, 3M, Prudential, Total Petroleum, Rahr Malting, Firstar Bank and Target. He has also represented the owners of smaller businesses impacted by condemnation including restaurants, service stations, shopping centers and apartments as well as properties owned by non-profit entities including churches and hospitals.

Mark represents a number of land developers whose properties are affected by eminent domain proceedings, including developers in the Twin Cities and in the St. Cloud area. He has also acted as an adviser to major developers in connection with downtown Minneapolis development projects.

Other significant representations include:

  • Representation of a professional sports team in a taking of land from the Met Center site by the City of Bloomington in connection with the development of the Mall of America. In addition to a series of unusual legal issues relating to the property's ownership by the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, this matter involved complex valuation issues pertaining to the value of commercial properties.
  • Representation of the Metropolitan Airports Commission in the acquisition of properties worth more than $125 million in connection with the expansion of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Properties included 3 hotels, a large office complex, an electrical substation and two service stations.
  • Representation of a national bank in a taking for a highway expansion. On behalf of the bank, we proposed, and persuaded the condemnor to accept, a revised roadway design that improved access to the property and allowed a negotiated settlement.
  • Representation of an owner of a 50 acre undeveloped property burdened by an easement taking that interfered with commercial development. The condemnor asserted that there was little or no damage as a result of the easement. After hearing by commissioners which focussed on complex legal and geotechnical issues, the owner was awarded nearly $3 million.
  • Representation of a manufacturing company in a jury trial involving loss of access. The jury awarded substantial severance damages, reversing an earlier commission's findings.
  • Representation of the City of Minnetonka in connection with the development of the Crescent Ridge office development. Approximately 30 residential properties and five commercial properties were acquired for the project.
  • Representation of a private landowner with a large parcel of vacant land considered to be of limited value by the condemnor because of land use regulations on commercial development. After hearing by commissioners which focussed on land use and zoning issues, the landowner was awarded compensation several times the condemnor's offer.
  • Representation of a special use processing plant whose interests were impacted by the taking of a related parcel. A negotiated settlement was reached which involved a swap of private and public properties and relocation payments to the landowner.
  • Representation of a property owner under the Tucker Act in the Court of Federal Claims on a successful regulatory takings claim against the Army Corps of Engineers.

Education

  • A.B., Kenyon College (1967), with honors
  • M.A., Stanford University (1970)
  • Ph.D., Stanford University (1976)
  • J.D., University of Minnesota (1986), cum laude, Law Review (Associate Editor)

Professional Recognition

  • Super Lawyer, Minnesota Law & Politics
  • The Best Lawyers in America

Publications

  • Kelo Revisited
    Appraisal Institute (Minnesota), St. Paul, MN, May 31, 2006
  • Real Property Valuation and Appraisals - The Real Estate Attorney's Survival Guide
    Minnesota State Bar Association, Minneapolis, MN, June 6, 2005
  • Use of Condemnation and Relocation in the Development of Affordable Housing
    Lorman Education Services, Bloomington, MN, October 10, 2001
  • Government Influence on Value: Use of the Scope of the Project Rule
    Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, Minneapolis, MN, October 10, 2001
  • "Valuation of Contaminated Properties," Minnesota Environmental Assessment Roundtable
    Minneapolis, MN, September 9, 1999

Admitted to Practice (State)

  • Minnesota

Admitted to Practice (Federal)

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
  • U.S. Court of Federal Claims