Any owner may file an answer to such petition. Such answer shall be verified as in a civil action and shall contain a general denial or specific denial of each material allegation not admitted. The agency's right to make the appropriation, the inability of the parties to agree, and the necessity for the appropriation shall be resolved by the court in favor of the agency unless such matters are specifically denied in the answer and the facts relied upon in support of such denial are set forth therein, provided, when taken in time of war or other public exigency, imperatively requiring its immediate seizure or for the purpose of making or repairing roads, which shall be open to the public, without charge, an answer may not deny the right to make the appropriation, the inability of the parties to agree, or the necessity for the appropriation. A petition for appropriation, filed by the director of transportation, which contains a declaration and journalization of his intent to construct a state highway or interstate highway, shall constitute a presumption that such appropriation is for the purpose of making or repairing roads which shall be open to the public without charge. At a hearing on an issue whether a taking sought by the director of transportation is for the purpose of making or repairing roads open to the public without charge, a set of construction plans made by or for the director and showing the proposed use of the property in connection with the construction or repair of such a road is presumptive evidence of such purpose, notwithstanding that no money has been appropriated for such construction or repair.

An answer shall be served in accordance with Civil Rule 12. If the agency involved in the action is a private agency, no more than one extension of the time authorized by Civil Rule 12 for serving an answer shall be granted pursuant to Civil Rule 6, and that extension shall not exceed thirty days.

Effective Date: 07-01-1983.