Court’s Enforcement of Gas Pipeline Easement Upheld

A federal district court could issue an injunction enforcing a private gas pipeline easement obtained under the Natural Gas Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit said Oct. 30.

The NGA allows private companies to take property for public use via eminent domain if certain conditions are met. When Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. obtained an easement for property under the NGA, the district court granted it an injunction allowing immediate possession of certain rights of way.

The property owners claimed the injunction acted as a type of eminent domain called quick take, which allows immediate possession ...