Short answer. Yes. The rule provides that at the trial of the issue of just compensation, whether or not a defendant has previously appeared or answered, he may present evidence as to the amount to be paid for his property, and may share in the distribution of the award.
What the law says
at the trial of the issue of just compensation, whether or not a defendant has previously appeared or answered, he may present evidence as to the amount of the compensation to be paid for his property, and he may share in the distribution of the award
Rule 67, Section 3 — Defenses and objections. Read the full provision →
Compensation is treated differently from everything else
In most litigation, failing to answer is close to fatal — you lose the chance to be heard. This rule carves out an exception for one issue. The words whether or not a defendant has previously appeared or answered are unusually direct, and they mean that silence at the pleading stage does not shut you out of the trial on the amount to be paid. Two separate entitlements follow: to present evidence on the amount, and to share in the distribution of the award.
Why the rule protects this and not the rest
The distinction reflects what compensation is. Property is being taken from the owner whether or not he pleaded on time, so the amount is not a claim he must preserve by diligence — it is the consideration for something he is losing regardless. Reading the rest of the provision alongside this makes the pattern clear: defenses and objections not raised in the answer are treated as waived, but the compensation issue is expressly excepted from that consequence.
What you have given up by not answering
Be clear about the limits, because the exception is narrower than it may feel. The rule provides that a defendant waives all defenses and objections not so alleged. Objections to the filing of the complaint, to its allegations, or to the taking of your property itself belong in the answer, and not filing one has consequences for those. What survives is the compensation question. So this is a rescue on price, not a reopening of whether the taking may proceed at all.
Prepare for the compensation trial itself
Since your participation is now concentrated on one issue, the evidence on value carries the whole weight. That means the material bearing on what the property is actually worth, and on the extent of the interest you hold in it. There is also a route back for defenses in some circumstances — the rule allows the court, in the interest of justice, to permit amendments to an answer within a stated period after its filing. Bring the complaint and the case dates to a lawyer promptly, because what remains open depends on where the case now stands.