Does TransCanada owe $350,000 in lawyers’ fees in eminent domain cases? Nebraska Supreme Court hears arguments
“Lawyers were in court Tuesday arguing about a case involving the Keystone XL pipeline, but the debate was over legal fees, not whether the $8 billion project should be built.
That second issue — whether construction on the pipeline can proceed — probably won’t be argued in court until September, one lawyer predicted, adding further delay to the much-delayed project.
On Tuesday, Omaha attorney Dave Domina told the State Supreme Court that pipeline developer TransCanada owes his firm about $350,000 for representing 71 landowners who won lawsuits over eminent domain in 2015 that were filed and then dismissed by the pipeline company.
But TransCanada’s lawyer, Jim Powers of Omaha, argued that there was no evidence that the landowners had made a contract to pay specific fees to Domina and his law partner, Brian Jorde and that the claim for fees should be dismissed.
“Just saying we’re obligated to pay is not enough,” Powers told the six judges hearing the case.
Domina argued that the landowners had clearly asked to be represented in the eminent domain cases, and because legal work was done and TransCanada lost the case by dismissal, the landowners’ legal fees are rightfully owed by the company.”
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Hmmel, Paul. Omaha World Herald 9 January 2018.