Property Rights

Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC v. 18.27 Acres of Land in Levy County, et al.

Federal appeal stems from pipeline company’s refusal to fully compensate the landowner under Florida law, including payment of attorney fees.

In Sabal Trail Transmission v. 18.27 Acres, the pipeline company only offered to pay the Thomas family a fraction of the value of the property that a jury later determined the Thomas family’s property was worth.  The Thomas family endured years of litigation against the pipeline company and, in the end, the pipeline company lost, and the jury returned a verdict in favor of the Thomas family.

Sabal Trail argued that it shouldn’t be required to pay landowners’ attorneys’ fees when it condemns their land and forces the landowners into court.  Read more