Scott Fitzgerald Wyatt

Scott Fitzgerald Wyatt brings more than three decades of legal experience to his work protecting North Carolina property owners. His current practice at The Odom Firm concentrates on land condemnation and eminent domain, with a focus on safeguarding property rights and pursuing just compensation when land is taken for public projects.

Scott combines careful preparation, practical judgment, and persuasive advocacy with an appreciation for what property means to the people and businesses who own it. His appellate experience includes representing landowners in published North Carolina Court of Appeals decisions addressing condemnation valuation, project-related development restrictions, and inverse condemnation.

A past chair of the Eminent Domain Section of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, Scott has written and presented on just compensation and negotiating with condemnors. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics, cum laude, and his law degree from Wake Forest University. Before entering private practice, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable W. Earl Britt of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

For Scott, effective representation begins with understanding the property, the proposed taking, and the client’s priorities—and building a thoughtful strategy to protect what matters most.

Representative Published Appellate Cases

• Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority v. Lamb, 150 N.C. App. 594, 564 S.E.2d 71 (2002).
  • Counsel for defendants-appellees in a condemnation appeal involving valuation of poultry-house equipment and the condemnor’s challenge to a jury compensation award.
• Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority v. Unger, 154 N.C. App. 589, 572 S.E.2d 832 (2002).
  • Counsel for defendants-appellants in a condemnation valuation dispute involving watershed development restrictions associated with the Randleman Dam project. The court reversed and remanded, allowing the landowners to introduce evidence of property value before adoption of the restrictions.
• Frances L. Austin Family Limited Partnership v. City of High Point, 177 N.C. App. 753, 630 S.E.2d 37 (2006).
  • Counsel for plaintiffs-appellants in an inverse condemnation appeal concerning sewer pipes left beneath the property after abandonment of a sewer easement.

Education

• Wake Forest University (B.A. Economics, cum laude, 1988; J.D., 1991)

Admission to Bar

• 1992, North Carolina, U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit
• 1993, U.S. District Court, Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina; U.S. Supreme Court
• 2019, U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Memberships

• North Carolina Bar Association
• North Carolina Advocates for Justice, Eminent Domain Section

Background

• Law Clerk to Honorable W. Earl Britt, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina (1991-93)
• Boy Scouts of America (Eagle Scout)

Legal Involvement

• Member, Eminent Domain Section of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (Past Chair)
• Past Chair, North Carolina Bar Association Convention Planning Committee
• Past Member, North Carolina Bar Association Professionalism Committee.

CLE Presentations and Articles

• “Negotiating with the Condemnor: Pre- and Post Taking” CLE March 2007.
• “Dealing with the Condemnor, Its Agents and Its Attorney in the Condemnation Process,” Trial Briefs, December 2006.
• “The Government Wants to Take Your Land. What Are Your Options?,” Firm Newsletter, Summer 2005.
• “What To Do When Your Land Is Being Taken For A Public Project,” Firm Newsletter, Summer 2002.
• “Just Compensation in Land Condemnation Cases: Making the Government Pay Fair Market Value,” Trial Briefs, December 2000.