Lawsuit filed by The Girards Law Firm of Dallas TX alleges Seaway Crude Pipeline Company improperly seizing land without legal authority exposing thousands to risk of Toxic Tar Sands.
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) July 15, 2013
On July 15, 2013, 80-year old Freddy Davenport filed pleadings in Collin County Court at Law No. 2 in Collin County, Texas, against Seaway Crude Pipeline Company in order to challenge Seaway’s claim that it has the right to take his land using the “T-4 permit” Seaway obtained from the Railroad Commission of Texas to put in an oil pipeline to transport Canadian oil sands to the Texas Gulf Coast. The case is Cause No. 002-335-2013, Seaway Crude Pipeline Company v. Freddy Davenport, filed in County Court at Law No. 2, Collin County TX. In the lawsuit papers, Davenport alleges that Seaway Crude Pipeline Company is a $125 Billion conglomerate consisting of 50% owner Enterprise Products Partners, LP and 50% owner Enbridge, Inc. and is using the eminent domain process in Texas illegally.
Davenport alleges Seaway is committing fraud on unsophisticated landowners by representing to them the T-4 permit allows Seaway to take their land. The allegation is based on the August 2011 Texas Supreme Court opinion in TEXAS RICE LAND PARTNERS v. DENBURY GREEN, Case No. 090901 (Tex. 8-26-2011) holding that a T-4 permit alone does not vest eminent domain power in any private company. As a result, Davenport alleges all easements Seaway obtained in Texas since August 2011 are void or voidable at the option of the landowners. Davenport further alleges that the Canadian oil sands Seaway intends to pump through the pipeline are not permitted under any state or federal regulation because the substance is actually a mix of bitumen, benzene, and other carcinogens that do not fit any definition of “crude oil” in state or federal regulations. If correct, the entire pipeline project that Seaway has bet over $1 Billion on may be halted. Davenport is seeking an injunction to stop construction of a new pipeline segment as well as stop the “re-purposing” of a 37-year old segment of pipeline to transport the oil sands. Davenport alleges the re-purposing of the old pipeline segment is contrary to the pipeline design and existing easements and places the drinking water supply to Dallas-Fort Worth and East Texas in jeopardy.
“Landowners still have rights in Texas,” says Davenport. “And, we’ll prove it.”
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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Is this the portion of the Keystone XL that is cutting through Collin County and the areas closer to us? Stand your ground Mr. Davenport! I was looking for the link to this, I heard this on the news from another room and could not find it. Thank you for posting.
It is going through Collin County and through East Dallas. It’s not the Keystone though. It’s a Seaway pipeline that will carry tar sands.
The entire state of Texas is a sacrifice zone. Thank you George Bush, Rick Perry and the Texas GOP.
I did not sign the contract giving seaway the right of way to our land in Jewett, TX, however, the judge granted their claim and ordered they pay $500 to all the heirs that didnt sign. This is $275 less than the heirs got whom already signed. I have never been paid and don’t get a response from them!