Alliance Pipeline L.P. v. 4.360 Acres of Land, et al., No. 13-1003 (8th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseThe Smiths appealed from the district court's order condemning portions of their property for the construction of a natural gas pipeline owned and operated by Alliance and granting Alliance immediate use and possession of the condemned land. The court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the Smiths' statutory challenges based on 18 C.F.R. 157.6(d) and North Dakota Administrative Code (NDAC) 69-06-08-01. The court also concluded that the Smiths received reasonable notice that Alliance was applying to FERC for the right to condemn their land; the court rejected the Smiths' allegation that Alliance violated several state procedural rules in bringing the condemnation action because Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 71.1 preempted all of these state procedures; Alliance satisfied any duty to negotiate with the Smiths in good faith pursuant to the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. 717f(h); and the district court did not abuse its discretion in holding that Alliance was entitled to immediate use and possession pursuant to Dataphase Sys., Inc. v. C L Sys., Inc. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.
Court Description: Civil case - Condemnation. Challenges to defendant's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission certificate to construct an underground pipeline from Tioga, North Dakota to Sherwood, North Dakota are rejected as the court lacks jurisdiction to consider the statutory challenges under North Dakota law and 18 C.F.R. Sec. 157.6(d); claim that Alliance violated several North Dakota procedural rules in bringing this condemnation action must be rejected as Fed. R. Civ. P. 71.1 preempts all of the state procedures; assuming the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 717(h), imposes an obligation on Alliance to negotiate in good faith before bringing a condemnation action, it met this obligation by making an offer for an easement; applying the Dataphase factors, the district court did not err in granting Alliance immediate use and possession of the condemned property.
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