Louisiana Ruling States That Legal Fees Must be Paid by Pipeline Company

David Valdez—HUD | New Orleans, Louisiana | https://picryl.com/media/president-george-w-bush-and-secretary-alphonso-jackson-on-tour-of-river-garden-62b684 | No known copyright restrictions | https://catalog.archives.gov/

The Louisiana state Constitution states that landowners who lose property from eminent domain must be fully compensated, and a ruling from the Supreme Court now says that compensation includes paying for the landowner’s attorney and legal fees.

The ruling comes from a dispute over the Bayou Bridge Pipeline being built through landowners’ property. In 2018 the company was sued for building the 163-mile pipeline through a 38-acre piece of land in St. Martin Parish without paying landowners compensation for the land taken.  Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC, the company building the pipeline, has already paid around $30,000 in damages to landowners and now must pay more money to landowners to cover legal fees.

This ruling is the first time the state’s high court has held that the Constitution permits litigation and attorney costs as an element of just compensation to landowners in eminent domain proceedings.

Australian Residents Seek Compensation for Metro Tunnel Under Their Homes

Jorge Láscar from Australia | Escalators at the deepest metro station of the world Arsenalna | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Escalators_at_the_deepest_metro_station_of_the_world_Arsenalna_%28105.5m%29_%288601894844%29.jpg |  Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons

Residents in Yarraville, Australia have taken legal action seeking up to 10% of the value of the address in compensation for a metro tunnel being dug under their homes. Adrian McMillain, a lawyer for the case states that “It comes down to the pretty basic question, ‘Would you rather buy a house that was above a tunnel or one that wasn’t above a tunnel?’.

Jacinta Allan, the Transport Infrastructure Minister, has stated that the prices of homes on these tunnels have been unaffected due to the tunnel being dug at least 15 meters underground. Michael O’Brien, the Opposition Leader, stated that the landowners should be fairly compensated if projects impact the property’s value.

McMillain claims market evidence suggests that there is a diminution in the value for the properties above this tunnel. McMillain also claims that property owners are entitled to the land to the center of the earth because the owners all have titles created before December 1891. Therefore, they are entitled to compensation for the taking of the land.