Supreme Court to decide if pipeline firms must cover ranchers' legal costs
The US Supreme Court will hear a case on Nov. 9 to decide whether WBI Energy Transmission must reimburse North Dakota ranchers for roughly $300,000 in legal fees incurred during a dispute over easement compensation.
Ranchers led by Leonard Hoffmann in McKenzie County, North Dakota, challenged WBI Energy Transmission’s offer for pipeline easements, eventually reaching a settlement but still seeking to recover roughly $300,000 in legal costs. A district court applied North Dakota law and ordered the company to cover those expenses, but the Eighth Circuit appellate court overturned the ruling, holding that the company’s eminent-domain power stems from federal law, which does not obligate it to pay owners’ legal fees.
The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Nov. 9 in Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission to determine whether private firms exercising federally authorized eminent-domain must honor state compensation provisions. The Institute for Justice, representing the ranchers, argues the decision could set a precedent for property owners in states that provide greater protections than the federal baseline. Twelve states have filed a brief supporting state-law safeguards, while the federal government has presented a contrasting view. The outcome may shape how pipeline projects are financed and how landowners are compensated nationwide.
Why it matters
The ruling could determine whether landowners can recover legal costs when private pipeline companies use federal eminent-domain powers.
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