before-and-after rule

Before-and-After Rule

The practice of appraising a piece of real estate both before and after it is taken over by a government due to eminent domain. The before-and-after rule considers improvements (or injuries) the government makes to the property. For example, if the government tears down a condemned house to build a park, this likely will improve the property value, while the opposite is probably true if the government tears down a mansion for the same reason.

before-and-after rule

A rule of damages holding that the measure of damage to a thing is the difference between the value before the injury and the value after the injury. In a real estate context, this often arises in a condemnation case for eminent domain purposes.The government must compensate a property owner for the value of the property taken, but must also pay damages if the remaining property has been injured because of the loss of the other piece.