Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by JamesCO on February 22, 2009 at 11:26

It is even more important to use a good attorney before signing any agreement. There is more leverage with the landowner in this business. They say imminent domain but it boils down to them facing a local jury of landowners. Not only will you get a good price (four times more than your latest top off before lawyering up) but no gimmicks in the agreement. I speak from experience.

I hope you had an attorney who birddoged your agreement. This is even more important than a mineral lease.

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Permalink Reply by KIM CASWELL on February 22, 2009 at 13:32

hi angie, i live close to new compressor site being built and the tiger pipeline is going to connect to it so i know to expect a pipelline war soon. already they've staked and access road without our permission. i stopped one gathering line accros my property but an interstate pipeline is a different matter . already lined up an attorney. not going down cheap.

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Permalink Reply by JamesCO on February 22, 2009 at 18:38

I know it is not cheap but if they are truly shafting you they will back off. They will try to intimidate but they hate to go into a parish courthouse. If the jury gives you pennies over their final offer they pay all costs of trail and lawyer. It ended up costing me less than 600 bucks but I gained much more with my agreement. It is not proper for me to tout services but I do want to provide encouragement. My attorney told me he had another landowner who ended up with what I received but Gulf bluffed up until the day of the trail. Mid C/Kinder did not take me that far. Good luck Angie and Kim. Do not roll over. If you cannot hold out or circumstances prevent you from finding an attorney, I am sorry. Your land is yours and your loved ones.

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Permalink Reply by intrepid on February 23, 2009 at 15:44

It would be beneficial to others if you could post more specifics about how the process worked in your case. How much of your land did they start to acquire? How much did they wind up with? What was the difference in the initial offer and the final settlement? What terms were added as a result of negotations that weren't offered up front? What brought about those concessions from the pipeline co? What did your lawyer actually do to help you? How does the condemnation process work in La.? Was the pipeline Co. actually able to invoke eminent domain in your case?

The further we go into the HS play the more pipelines will become issues that everyone will have to deal with. So your personal experience in this case is valuable.

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Permalink Reply by KIM CASWELL on September 3, 2010 at 20:30

five days after i was served with a papers energy transfer called me offering to drop the condemnation case for what we had agreed upon before . i accepted and we avoided going to court.
this was after i stated to my attorney there would be no deals on the court house steps and they would not be allowed back on my property after this event . they have no surface rights i have no mineral rights my property is located between there metering stations and compressor stations so it was a stand off.

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Permalink Reply by Angie on February 23, 2009 at 15:51

Who knows the specifics on the line that exploded last week in Texas? Is there anything we can do to avoid this in the future?

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Permalink Reply by sesport on February 23, 2009 at 18:02

Is this something that my help you guys? :0) sesport

http://www.energytransfer.com/open_season.asp

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Permalink Reply by Raybies on February 24, 2009 at 1:09

It boils down to what your easement agreement states. Most of the pipeline companies want to purchase an easement that will allow an "unlimited" number of lines. However most of the easements we've seen in Texas have been for 2 or 3 pipelines.

Typically you'll see a minimum 10' between pipes in the same easement. So depending on your width and where they placed the first pipe, the answer may be yes or no.

As for future construction activities, again it depends how your agreement was written. They are allowed to conduct maintenance on their pipeline, but constructing an additional is a different story.

Ultimately if you aren't sure, you should have a lawyer that specializes in this type of land law.

Good luck!
~Rizzay

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