A recent Louisiana Supreme Court decision could cause oil and gas pipeline companies to be more cautious in exercising eminent domain rights when constructing pipelines in the state, according to an attorney who represented three plaintiffs in the litigation.
William Quigley, who is also an emeritus law professor at Loyola University in New Orleans, and the Center for Constitutional Rights said the May 13 ruling was a victory for the due process rights of property owners. The high court’s majority required the Bayou Bridge Pipeline (BBP) to pay the plaintiffs’ attorney fees in addition to affirming a lower court’s decision that the pipeline company must also pay $10,000 to each plaintiff in damages awards.
“This decision is helpful for landowners fighting to protect their property rights against the huge pipeline corporations,” Quigley said in an email to the Louisiana Record.
Attorney William Quigley was one of the plaintiffs' attorneys in the pipeline dispute.
In their ruling, the court noted BBP’s position that a law the appeals court relied on to require the awarding of attorney fees to the plaintiffs only applied to state government agencies. But ultimately, the awarding of the fees in an eminent domain case involving private parties is authorized by the state’s constitution, the court said.
“We find that the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 does provide the legal authority and basis to uphold the award of attorney fees and litigation costs,” the Supreme Court said in its opinion.
This represents the first time that the state’s high court allowed the awarding of attorney fees as part of a damages award handed down in an eminent domain proceeding, according to the nonprofit Center for Constitutional Rights.
“The Supreme Court's ruling confirms that landowners can prevail against a pipeline company in Louisiana because the constitution is on our side,” landowner Peter Aaslestad, one of the plaintiffs, said in a prepared statement. “I hope our victory today will encourage more landowners to engage in the legal process to protect their property and the natural resources of the state of Louisiana."
BBP, a joint venture of Energy Transfer Partners and Phillips 66, has completed its southern Louisiana pipeline, which is part of a network that includes the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota.
Louisiana law gives pipeline companies eminent domain powers for projects that are deemed in the public interest, but the state constitution also gives private landowners an array of rights as well.