A ruling has been announced in the Bayou Bridge Pipeline eminent domain case.
A judge Thursday found that the Bayou Bridge Pipeline Company trespassed on private land when it constructed its pipeline in the Atchafalaya Basin. The ruling however allows the company to exercise eminent domain over the property for its use.
According to the Louisiana Bucket Bridgade, landowners with property interests that span 38 acres in the basin, represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, challenged the land grab and damage to the property resulting from the construction of the pipeline without their permission.
Each of the landowners was awarded $150 in total for the expropriation and trespass. The landowners’ attorneys say they will appeal court’s ruling, according to a release
“This case was always about holding a billion-dollar corporation legally accountable for its violations of the Louisiana and U.S. Constitutions and the damage it is doing to the Atachafalaya Basin,” said Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Staff Attorney Pamela Spees. “They made a calculated business decision that it was cheaper to violate the law than to follow it. While the court did find the company trespassed on our clients’ land, the damages award validates their business decision.”
