The 10 Tips Landowners Must Know If A Pipeline Company Comes Knocking At The Door 1. Play it cool. If a surveyor appears at you door, we recommend allowing them on your property as forbidding access will not stop the process. But don’t panic and don’t sign their survey form. The law gives you important protections and rights. Call your attorney - they can give you a better survey permission form. 2. Don’t be intimidated. Condemning authorities may try to pressure you by telling you that the project is urgent, or that you are getting a one-time offer and will lose everything if you don’t accept or that you will be sued if you don’t accept. This is not the case. 3. Slow down. While, the condemning authority will stress the urgency of getting the property owner’s consent, the landowner should take all the time they need to access the situation and consult with an expert. Slow the process until you have the time to be fully informed. This can be accomplished without any penalty or cost. 4. Don’t sign anything. A landowner should not sign any agreements without first having them reviewed by an expert. An experienced lawyer can assist a landowner in negotiating settlements and developing easements and agreements to protect the property owner. A lawyer is essential if the matter ultimately goes to litigation. 5. Know your rights. It’s unlikely you can stop a pipeline from being routed across your land, no matter how hard you fight. If a landowner doesn’t want to grant an easement, the pipeline company can take the landowner to court because in Ohio many pipeline companies have the power of eminent domain. However, the law ensures landowners fair and equitable treatment and just compensation. An experienced eminent domain attorney can help you get that. 6. Turn to an expert to negotiate an easement that is safe.
A pipeline can impact the safety of those living on the property, along with their livestock. Cases of pipelines leaking and/or exploding, while rare, have been known to happen. That is why the placement and terms of the easement are critical. 7. Turn to an expert to negotiate the easement. An easement can greatly restrict current and future property and land use rights. For example, property owners are often restricted from building over an easement. This can greatly affect the future use of the land and its value. An experienced lawyer can assist a landowner in easements that protect the property owner and the value of the land over time. Without proper legal protection, a pipeline company will negotiate an easement that is in their best interest, not yours. 8. Turn to an expert to determine “just compensation”. Just compensation is the fair market value of your land. Fair market value is not based on the current use of your land, but rather on the highest and most valuable use that the land could be put to. An expert can analyze your lands development potential and highest value. 9. Don’t panic if the pipeline company starts talking about an old easement, but do get help. There are many pipeline easements crisscrossing Ohio, in some cases dating back to the early 1900s. It is not unusual for pipeline companies to try to use these old easements to locate a new pipeline. It is also not unusual for the pipeline company to claim that they either don’t have to pay additional compensation or that they only have to pay the compensation specified in the old easement – in some cases this amounts to only pennies per foot. Ohio law contains numerous protections for landowners who find themselves in this situation. In every case where a pipeline company seeks to enforce an old easement in this manner an attorney should be consulted to determine if the pipeline company really has the rights that it claims. 10.Be prudent; understand that in most cases, expert legal counsel will pay off. In almost all instances, an attorney will agree to review your situation without a fee and, thereafter, will be compensated on a contingent fee basis, taking a percentage of the additional money realized above the original offer. The attorneys of Goldman & Braunstein are recognized legal experts for Ohio property owners facing potential eminent domain issues. They are dedicated to exclusively representing landowners. Our attorneys have extensive backgrounds in development, zoning and construction. For Call 888-231-2554 for more information and to schedule your free, onsite, no obligation consultation.