Practice Areas & Industries: Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P.

Practice/Industry Group Overview

The power of eminent domain is an essential tool in the service and accomplishment of important public goals, and it affects the fundamental constitutional rights of property owners. It is no wonder that its exercise often leads to hotly contested and high-profile administrative and judicial proceedings. This is especially true in the wake of the United States Supreme Court's 2005 opinion in the case of Kelo v. City of New London, holding that a taking for economic development purposes is an allowed "public use."

We are experienced both in representing clients in their exercise of the power of eminent domain and in defending the property rights of clients when the power of eminent domain is exercised. The outcomes of such cases often profoundly impact rights most central to the parties' plans, prospects, and interests.

Our lawyers' experience is derived from a wide variety of representations, including:

• Representation of an energy company whose producing wells were sought to be condemned by an authority charged with the construction of a large reservoir.
• Representation of a pipeline company seeking to expand an existing petroleum product pipeline system in a formerly rural area experiencing semi-urban and commercial development.
• Representation of a pipeline company in multiple highly-publicized condemnation proceedings in which summary dismissals were obtained of numerous counterclaims brought by landowners in an effort to halt the construction of a high pressure, high temperature oil pipeline.
• Representation of industrial and non-industrial landowners in condemnation proceedings.
• Representation of lien holders in both partial and total takings cases.
• Representation of a third-party creditor in condemnation proceedings involving the expansion of a highway.

Our representation of clients in condemnation proceedings has also grown out of relationships developed while representing clients in other matters. For example, while serving the general litigation needs of national energy companies, we have been entrusted with their representation in condemnation and ancillary proceedings concerning major pipeline projects.

• In addition to our representation of a pipeline company partnership (whose partners are Fortune 500 energy companies) in complex commercial and antitrust litigation, we represented the partnership in multiple condemnation proceedings aimed at expanding the scope of earlier grants of pipeline easements, in that pipeline partnership's successful effort to convert a major pipeline from crude oil service to transportation of refined petroleum products westward from the refineries of the Texas gulf coast.
• We are currently engaged in the representation of one of the pipeline affiliates of a large international integrated energy company, which we represent in other complex commercial litigation, in a series of condemnation and ancillary proceedings relating to a project to build a brand new pipeline. The new pipeline will transport natural gas from a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Texas gulf coast to interconnections with various intrastate and interstate natural gas pipelines. Prior to the commencement of actual condemnation proceedings, we sought and secured the court's equitable enforcement of the pipeline company's rights ancillary to the power of eminent domain to conduct engineering, environmental, and archeological surveys on the properties affected.

In addition to representing clients in disputes, we are prepared to advise clients concerning their rights in connection with the potential exercise of the power of eminent domain and the appropriate procedures to follow in order to preserve and enforce their rights.

Our representation of clients in eminent domain proceedings combines our grasp of the unique condemnation practice with our understanding of and commitment to our clients' dispute resolution expectations and their broader business objectives.