O’NEILL, Neb. — Nebraska State District Court Judge Mark Kozisek has issued a temporary Injunction in a landowner lawsuit against TransCanada.
The Order halts condemnation cases along the proposed TransCanada Keystone Pipeline XL route in northern Nebraska. The Order followed a hearing in district court at O’Neill NE, at which, for the first time in Nebraska, the landowners’ lawyers squared off directly against lawyers for TransCanada.
In previous litigation, landowners were pitted against the state attorney general. The change came when the state supreme court was unable to decide the merits of constitutional issues about the law TransCanada must rely on to acquire land in Nebraska.
Lawsuits filed
On Jan. 16, landowners filed two lawsuits to halt TransCanada’s land acquisition. Four days later, TransCanada filed about 90 eminent domain cases against landowners across Nebraska.
Judge Kozisek’s temporary injunction order halts this process in the northern counties involved in the case before him. Dave Domina and Brian Jorde appeared in court for the landowners.
After the hearing, Domina said, “we have always known our constitutional law arguments are very strong. The law holds things in their status quo until substantial issues like those we have raised are decided. We expected the temporary injunction order to be issued as it was.”
Domina, Jorde and their landowner clients contend the Nebraska Legislature improperly empowered the state’s governor, who has now left office, authority to give TransCanada a political favor.
The legislature passed a law permitting bypass of the state’s Public Service Commission — the body required by the state constitution, to regulate common carriers, including pipelines.
Other cases
The second case filed in January by landowners is in York County. A hearing will be held there on proceedings identical to those heard by Judge Kozisek.
Jorde said he thinks an order like the one issued by Kozisek is likely to be issued in York County.
