US ranchers win pipeline compensation fight but face $300,000 legal bill, Supreme Court to hear case

Rocky Prestangen and Randy Stevenson (Photo: Institute for Justice, AI-enhanced image) A dispute over who should pay nearly $300,000 in legal expenses has brought a group of North Dakota ranchers and a natural gas pipeline company before the US Supreme Court. The ranchers had challenged the compensation offered for pipeline access across their properties and eventually reached a settlement. However, an appeals court later ruled that the company was not responsible for their legal costs. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on November 9.The case, Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission, concerns Leonard Hoffmann, members of his family and neighbouring ranchers in McKenzie County, according to the official court record. Their disagreement with WBI Energy Transmission began over the amount the company was prepared to pay for easements. These agreements allow a company to use a portion of private land for purposes such as laying and maintaining pipelines without purchasing the entire property.The landowners initially succeeded in getting a court to consider evidence of payments made for similar pipeline easements. A settlement followed, but the legal proceedings had already cos...