North Dakota Monitor reported that a group of northwest North Dakota landowners are actively seeking legal cost reimbursement from a pipeline company in a high-stakes property rights dispute. The legal battle officially reached the nation's highest judicial level when the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday.
The origins of this protracted legal conflict trace back to when WBI Energy used federal eminent domain in 2018. Following that initial action, the opposing parties previously signed a confidential settlement in 2021. Despite that earlier agreement, the dispute over financial obligations continued through the court system, prompting a federal judge to initially order WBI to pay about $380,000. However, that financial directive was upended when the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower ruling in March 2025, bringing the landowners to seek further relief.
The central legal question hinges on the interpretation of the Natural Gas Act passed in 1947. As the landowners push forward with their claims, a 12-state coalition has stepped forward to formally support the northwest North Dakota landowners in their Supreme Court proceedings.
Addressing the historical purpose and legislative scope of the federal statute, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson told North Dakota Monitor, "It was trying to get away from states interfering with the development of pipelines."
Offering further perspective on the statutory text and its application, Bob McNamara told North Dakota Monitor, "Silence meant state law then, silence means state law today".
