Information Intelligence has written about the pending TX Supreme Court case about a pipeline that owes a landowner a hefty judgment and hasn’t paid it. The case is gaining attention and momentum. TPPF weighs in on the case of the non-paying pipeline:
- “…energetic property rights is what enables individuals to attain self-sufficiency and assert their independence…”
- “Democratic government is not exempt from the temptation to circumvent the boundaries of private property rights for the sake of expediency.”
- “Texas has granted the power of eminent domain to electric trans- mission utilities and pipeline companies operating as a common carrier. ”
- “By extended the power of eminent domain to private enti- ties, the government has introduced greater uncertainty for landowners into the eminent domain process when it comes to just and adequate compensation.”
- “Unadorned assertions of public use are constitutionally insufficient.”
- Merely registering as a common carrier does not conclu- sively convey the extraordinary power of eminent domain or bar landowners from contesting in court whether a planned pipeline meets statutory common-carrier require- ments. ”
A friendly reminder: When eminent domain is exercised by a private company, like a pipeline, the public and legislative scrutiny is higher. TPPF