The defendants shall be allowed their costs, including the costs of determining the apportionment of the award made pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1260.220, except that the costs of determining any issue as to title between two or more defendants shall be borne by the defendants in such proportion as the court may direct.
§ 1268.710.Defendants Allowed Costs
Title 7. Eminent Domain Law · Chapter 11. Postjudgment Procedure · Article 8. Costs · Enacted 1975 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1268.710 entitles defendants to their costs, including the cost of determining apportionment of the award among multiple defendants, except that costs of resolving a title dispute between two or more defendants get allocated among those defendants as the court directs.
Full Text of § 1268.710
Plain-English Summary
Apart from the litigation-expense provisions tied to dismissal and abandonment, ordinary costs still need a rule in eminent domain cases, and this section supplies the baseline: defendants get their costs. That includes the costs of the apportionment proceeding under § 1260.220(b), the two-stage process that divides a combined award among defendants with separate interests.
There's one carve-out. If two or more defendants end up fighting among themselves over who holds title to the property, or to a particular interest in it, the costs of resolving that internal dispute don't automatically fall on the plaintiff along with everything else. Instead, the court directs how those particular costs get divided among the defendants involved in the title fight, in whatever proportion it finds appropriate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are defendants entitled to recover their costs in an eminent domain case?
Yes, under § 1268.710, including the costs of determining how a combined award gets apportioned among defendants under § 1260.220(b).
Who pays the costs of a title dispute between defendants?
The defendants involved in that dispute, in whatever proportion the court directs, rather than the plaintiff.
How does this section relate to litigation expenses under § 1268.610?
This section governs ordinary costs available to defendants generally; § 1268.610 is a separate, broader litigation-expense remedy triggered specifically by dismissal or a failed right to take.
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: defendant costs eminent domain californiaapportionment costs condemnation award