Land condemnation
Federal civil · Real Property · 16,410 cases filed and closed (1988–present).
16,410
Cases filed
61.7%
Ended before a merits judgment
10,117 of 16,410 cases
26.1%
Plaintiff win
of 6,293 merits judgments
58.4%
Defendant win
of merits judgments
How they closed
- Dismissed37.9%
- Defendant win22.4%
- Settled17.1%
- Plaintiff win10%
- Mixed3.9%
- Other3.7%
- Decided — other2.1%
- Remanded1.9%
- Transferred1%
- Affirmed0%
- Denied0%
Where you file matters
The same claim resolves differently across districts. Plaintiff-win rate among merits judgments, busiest courts first.
- District Court, S.D. Florida3,061 cases · 2,438 decided2.8%
- District Court, M.D. Florida839 cases · 147 decided26.5%
- District Court, S.D. Texas690 cases · 59 decided27.1%
- District Court, M.D. Tennessee430 cases · 119 decided22.7%
- District Court, N.D. West Virginia428 cases · 151 decided7.9%
- District Court, W.D. Virginia425 cases · 52 decided34.6%
- District Court, E.D. Texas425 cases · 144 decided78.5%
- District Court, D. New Jersey420 cases · 65 decided33.8%
- District Court, D. Arizona420 cases · 231 decided40.7%
- District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania368 cases · 165 decided69.7%
- District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania333 cases · 72 decided38.9%
- District Court, E.D. Kentucky319 cases · 164 decided75%
- District Court, N.D. Georgia305 cases · 109 decided44%
- District Court, W.D. Louisiana294 cases · 60 decided48.3%
- District Court, N.D. Alabama286 cases · 48 decided43.8%
- District Court, D. Massachusetts281 cases · 66 decided53%
- District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania273 cases · 23 decided—
- District Court, S.D. Mississippi261 cases · 68 decided17.6%
- District Court, E.D. Tennessee255 cases · 107 decided18.7%
- District Court, D. Maryland255 cases · 58 decided46.6%
- District Court, N.D. Mississippi245 cases · 98 decided42.9%
- District Court, N.D. New York214 cases · 10 decided—
- District Court, E.D. Virginia203 cases · 61 decided31.1%
- District Court, W.D. Oklahoma189 cases · 52 decided44.2%
- District Court, C.D. California185 cases · 30 decided13.3%
- District Court, E.D. North Carolina175 cases · 33 decided18.2%
- District Court, S.D. West Virginia173 cases · 35 decided45.7%
- District Court, N.D. Ohio157 cases · 47 decided10.6%
- District Court, D. Maine150 cases · 31 decided58.1%
- District Court, E.D. Louisiana148 cases · 66 decided37.9%
Source: FJC Integrated Database (public domain), via CourtListener — federal civil cases filed and terminated, 1988–present. Figures are descriptive statistics about how cases of a given type have closed in a given court. They describe the historical record — not a prediction or assessment of any specific case. Not legal advice.