Supreme Court to hear North Dakota landowners’ legal fees case

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The Supreme Court is set to hear a case about landowners’ rights that centers on North Dakota but could apply to property owners elsewhere.The central question is whether a government-backed company should have to pay a property owner’s legal fees if the owner takes the company to court and wins.In the U.S., someone who takes land under eminent domain must pay the owner for it. The North Dakota property owners in this case went to court to be paid fairly for their land.WBI Energy, the government-contracted company behind the pipeline in question, eventually gave the owners fair compensation. The landowners were left with nearly $380,000 in legal fees. They say the company should pay that bill.Sam Spiegelman of Spiegelman Law Group said North Dakota law “clearly says that just compensation includes the legal costs for an owner to vindicate their property rights.”The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals said that law should not apply when the federal government is on the o