Services Expropriation & Condemnation

Kean Miller has comprehensive experience in the sale, purchase, financing, land use, expropriation, and condemnation of all manner of real property in Louisiana and Texas associated with pipeline operations, public easements/servitudes, and utility and infrastructure projects. When our clients are faced with disputes, they rely on Kean Miller for sophisticated representation under federal and state law, including declaratory or injunctive actions for access to rights-of-way, property damage claims, trespass and inverse condemnation claims, wetlands loss or damage claims, mitigation bank negotiations, contract disputes, and property damage claims. Our representation has involved underground storage facilities, pipeline rights-of-way, access rights, pipeline ruptures and leaks, surface use of rights-of-way and easements/servitudes, and casualty claims.

Kean Miller has extensive experience in energy and land use matters in Texas and Louisiana for public and private entities seeking to acquire right-of-way for pipeline, utility, and infrastructure projects through the exercise of eminent domain in federal and state courts. We have experience seeking injunctive relief for survey access, preparing board consents, preparing and coordinating initial and final offer letters, representation at special commissioners’ hearings and establishing right to take in pursuit of a timely acquisition of land consistent with the client’s construction schedule. We also handle easement/servitude negotiations, road access agreements, water use agreements and surface site agreements in connection with the construction needs of the project. Once the project is constructed, we also manage operations issues including encroachments, access issues/lockouts, breach of easements/servitudes, maintenance and repair of the pipeline and corrective actions.

Representative Experience

• Representation of a significant energy and pipeline client in a proceeding before the Louisiana Commissioner of Conservation to obtain a certificate of transportation for a pipeline designed to transport hydrogen produced from steam methane reformation. With that certificate, the client obtained the authority to expropriate necessary rights to build the pipeline.
• Representation of a pipeline client in the acquisition of right of way through negotiation and/or condemnation for a 504-mile intrastate transmission pipeline transporting natural gas liquids from the Delaware Basin to refineries in the Houston area.
• Representation of a global energy company in the acquisition of right of way through negotiation and/or condemnation for an 876-mile intrastate transmission pipeline transporting crude oil from the Permian Basin to the Texas Gulf Coast refineries, including Corpus Christi and Freeport.
• Representation of a pipeline and energy company in connection with the real estate, environmental, tax, and expropriation aspects of a 250-mile pipeline from the Haynesville Shale area to Abbeville, Louisiana.
• Representation of a global energy company as coordinating counsel on the acquisition through negotiation or expropriation of servitudes/easements for a 265-mile petroleum pipeline from Houston to St. James Parish Louisiana.
• Representation of a pipeline client in the acquisition of right of way through negotiation and/or condemnation for an interstate transmission pipeline transporting crude oil from Cushing to refineries in the Houston area of the Texas Gulf Coast.
• Representation of a pipeline client in the acquisition of right of way through negotiation and/or condemnation for an intrastate natural gas pipeline from wells located in LaSalle County, Texas in the Eagle Ford Shale to Agua Dulce, Texas.
• Representation of the pipeline division of a global energy company regarding necessary land rights in conjunction with the reversal of flow of the Houma to Houston petroleum line.
• Representation of a global energy company in a 75-mile pipeline expropriation project from Garyville, Louisiana to East Feliciana Parish, north of Baton Rouge. The pipeline carries liquified petroleum products.
• Representation of a pipeline company in the acquisition of right of way through negotiation and/or condemnation for a 48-mile intrastate natural gas pipeline from Live Oak County, Texas to Nueces County, Texas.
• Representation of a pipeline client in the acquisition of right of way through condemnation in connection with right to take issues involving the construction and scope of Sec. 2.105 of the Texas Business Organizations Code and the proper methodology for calculation of damages for land traversed by multiple pipeline easements.
• Representation of the pipeline division of a global energy company in the expropriation of a 180-mile ethylene pipeline right of way that extends from Ascension Parish in Louisiana to the Texas border.
• Representation of natural gas pipeline company in the expropriation of underground gas storage rights, surface easements, and pipeline rights of way for an underground natural gas storage facility in St. James Parish, and in a case involving the public need for pipeline land.
• Representation of natural gas pipeline company in the expropriation of servitudes necessary for multiple lines supplying LNG projects.
• Representation of a pipeline client for damages caused by pipeline company clearing an allegedly expired easement and right of way.
• Representation of a pipeline client seeking injunctive relief against landowner encroaching on pipeline right of way in violation of 756.123 of the Texas Health & Safety Code.