Fort Berthold Indian Reservation Landowners Sue Oil Companies Over ‘Unauthorized’ Pipeline Use

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Members of three affiliated Native American tribes who own land on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation have filed suit against a group of oil and gas companies over a pipeline that runs through the reservation. The suit claims the defendants have continued to operate the pipeline without permission from landowners and have failed to pay them due compensation for the use of their land.

The lawsuit says the defendants – Tesoro High Plains Pipeline Company, LLC; Tesoro Corporation; Tesoro Logistics GP, LLC; and Tesoro Companies, Inc. – secured an easement in 1953 that allowed them to operate a pipeline across the plaintiffs’ lands. The easement had a term of 20 years and was renewed in 1973 and 1995, according to the suit. The case argues that despite the expiration of the 1995 easement, the defendants have failed to secure a new agreement or restore the property to its original condition.

According to the complaint, the defendants initially failed to notify the plaintiffs that the easement had expired. Ultimately, the case continues, the defendants settled and agreed to pay $53,777,513 “to compensate for trespass and an easement on 28.2 acres of Tribal land.” The plaintiffs claim, however, that the defendants have yet to reach any agreement with individual landowners with regard to compensation for the continued use of the pipeline.

“Defendants did not operate in good faith with Plaintiffs and sought to ignore requests for reasonable compensation, repress full information relating to their actions, failed to respond in a timely manner to requests for information, and knowingly treated Plaintiffs unreasonably, unfairly, and with bad faith,” the complaint reads.

The suit claims the defendants continue to operate the pipeline without properly compensating landowners and have unlawfully profited off the use of their land.