A huge transnational company has to justify its attempted use of eminent
domain to a small farmer in Texas, so says the Texas Supreme Court.
Somebody should make Sabal Trail and Spectra Energy try to justify their
attempted use of eminent domain in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.
Julia Trigg Crawford wrote 8 January 2014 for Tar Sands Blockade,
Texas Supreme Court Favors Landowner Over TransCanada in Eminent Domain Case,
The Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of landowner Julia Trigg
Crawford, ordering TransCanada to submit information by Feb. 6 as
the justices weigh arguments to hear the case regarding eminent
domain abuse.
Texas’s highest court delivered a clear victory for pipeline
opponents and landowners fighting TransCanada’s overreach on
property rights. At the heart of Crawford’s case is the ability of
TransCanada, a foreign corporation, to use eminent domain under the
state’s “common carrier” clause since their pipeline
transports 90% Canadian tar sands and 10% North Dakota oil. There is
no on ramp for Texas oil therefore violating the definition of a
common carrier under Texas law.
Crawford said she looks forward to her family’s day in court,
“As a landowner, property rights are key to my livelihood and
family legacy. A foreign corporation pumping foreign oil simply does
not qualify as a common carrier under Texas law. TransCanada does
not get to write their own rules. I look forward to the Supreme
Court hearing our case and our plea to protect the fundamental
rights of property owners.”
Here’s the Court’s letter
in PDF on the Court’s website.
It’s
Case Number 13-0886,
THE CRAWFORD FAMILY FARM PARTNERSHIP v. TRANSCANADA KEYSTONE PIPELINE, L.P.
That’s an oil pipeline, but the issues are the same Continue reading Landowner gains review against pipeline in Texas Supreme Court →
Now let’s stop
Spectra’s Sabal “Sinkhole” Trail and keep
Kinder Morgan’s Palmetto pipeline denied.
And let’s stop the
Trans-Pacific Parternership (TPP) before it can produce more “free trade” countries for LNG export.
