Seaway Crude Pipeline Company has been seizing private land for years now in order to put in an oil pipeline from Cushing Oklahoma to the Texas Gulf Coast. They have put a one-page "T-4 Permit" they obtained from the Railroad Commission of Texas in front of unsophisticated landowners and told them that the permit allows them to take the land for easements for their pipeline. But, they haven't told the landowners that the T-4 does not give Seaway eminent domain power, the Railroad Commission of Texas does not give out eminent domain power, and the Texas Supreme Court has held that the T-4 permit alone does not give anyone eminent domain power. They simply bully their way onto the property and force the landowners to accept a pittance in return for the easements under threat of court action. It's all a big fraud.
Well, one courageous 80-year old man represented by the Girards Law Firm is taking them on. In papers filed this morning, Freddy Davenport is challenging Seaway Crude Pipeline Company's ability to seize land and in the process may very well bring the entire pipeline project to a screeching halt.
Photo: Freddy Davenport
The detailed lawsuit papers are available here. The press release is available here.
For more information contact The Girards Law Firm at 888-897-2762