If, after the defendant moves from property in compliance with an order or agreement for possession or in reasonable contemplation of its taking by the plaintiff, the proceeding is dismissed with regard to that property for any reason or there is a final judgment that the plaintiff cannot acquire that property, the court shall:
§ 1268.620.Proceeding Dismissed Or Judgment that Plaintiff Cannot Acquire Property
Title 7. Eminent Domain Law · Chapter 11. Postjudgment Procedure · Article 7. Litigation Expenses and Damages Upon Dismissal or Defeat of Right to Take · Enacted 1975 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1268.620 requires the court, when a proceeding is dismissed or the plaintiff is found unable to acquire property the defendant already vacated under a possession order or agreement, to order the plaintiff to return possession and to make just provision for all damages the proceeding and its dismissal proximately caused.
Full Text of § 1268.620
(a) Order the plaintiff to deliver possession of the property to the persons entitled to it; and
(b) Make such provision as shall be just for the payment of all damages proximately caused by the proceeding and its dismissal as to that property.
Plain-English Summary
Litigation expenses under § 1268.610 compensate a defendant for the cost of fighting the case, but they don't address a different kind of harm: the disruption of having moved out. This section targets that separate harm, triggered by a narrower set of facts.
It applies when the defendant moved from the property either because a court order or agreement for possession required it, or in reasonable anticipation that the agency was about to take possession, and the proceeding is later dismissed as to that property, or a final judgment holds that the agency can't acquire it. In that situation, the court has two obligations. First, it orders the agency to deliver possession of the property back to the people entitled to it. Second, it makes whatever provision is just for all damages proximately caused by the proceeding itself and by its dismissal as to that property.
That second piece can cover real losses tied to the move -- relocation costs, lost business, and similar harms flowing from having vacated in reliance on a taking that, in the end, never went through. It runs alongside the litigation-expense award in § 1268.610, not in place of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What situation triggers this section?
The defendant moved from the property under a possession order or agreement, or in reasonable anticipation of the agency taking possession, and the proceeding is later dismissed or the agency is found unable to acquire the property.
What must the court do once this section applies?
Order the agency to deliver possession of the property back to the persons entitled to it, and make just provision for all damages proximately caused by the proceeding and its dismissal.
Does this section replace the litigation-expense award under § 1268.610?
No. It addresses a different harm -- the damages from having vacated the property -- and operates alongside § 1268.610's litigation-expense award.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1975, Ch. 1275.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: damages after abandoned possession eminent domainreturn possession dismissed condemnation proceeding