## Facts

- Bayou Bridge Pipeline, LLC (BBP) was constructing the Bayou Bridge Pipeline and sought pipeline servitudes from landowners along the route.
- The property at issue was approximately 38 acres in St. Martin Parish owned by multiple co-owners, including Peter Aaslestad, Katherine Aaslestad, and Theda Larson Wright.
- Before securing servitude agreements from all co-owners, BBP entered the property in July 2018 and began construction activities, including clearing trees and digging trenches.
- One co-owner filed suit to stop further work; BBP later stipulated it would stay off the property as of September 10, 2018, by which time construction across the tract was more than 90% complete.
- After beginning construction, BBP filed an expropriation petition against landowners from whom it had not obtained agreements, including these co-owners.
- The landowners filed a reconventional demand asserting, among other claims, trespass arising from BBP’s entry and work before permission or a judgment authorizing expropriation.
- The trial court granted BBP’s petition for expropriation (finding a public and necessary purpose) and also found BBP liable for trespass, but awarded each landowner only \$75 for the taking and \$75 for trespass damages, without attorney fees.
- On appeal, the court of appeal determined the landowners were entitled to attorney fees and litigation costs and increased the trespass award to \$10,000 for each landowner.
- BBP sought review in the Louisiana Supreme Court, challenging the award of attorney fees and other litigation costs in the expropriation proceeding.

## Issues

1. Whether attorney fees and other litigation costs may be awarded to landowners in an expropriation proceeding as part of the compensation required by La. Const. art. I, § 4.
2. Whether any such award rests on statutory authority or instead on the Louisiana Constitution’s requirement that an owner be compensated “to the full extent of his loss.”

## Decision

- The Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeal’s award of attorney fees and other litigation costs to the landowners.
- The Court agreed with the result reached below but held the legal basis for the fee-and-cost award is La. Const. art. I, § 4 (1974), not statutory law.
- The Court left intact the appellate disposition that had awarded fees and costs and remanded for further proceedings as needed to determine amounts.

## Legal Principles

- In Louisiana expropriation proceedings, La. Const. art. I, § 4 requires compensation “to the full extent of [the owner’s] loss,” which can exceed the market value of the property interest taken.
- Although Louisiana generally does not allow attorney fees absent statute or contract, the constitutional command to pay the owner’s “full extent of loss” can require reimbursement of reasonable attorney fees and necessary litigation costs when they are part of the owner’s loss caused by the expropriation dispute.
- The absence of an express statutory fee provision does not bar a court from awarding fees and costs when the Constitution requires them to fully compensate the owner under the facts of the case.
- Where the condemning party’s conduct forces landowners to litigate to protect property rights in connection with an expropriation (including litigation tied to pre-judgment entry and related claims), resulting fees and costs may be recoverable as part of constitutionally required compensation.

## Conclusion

Bayou Bridge Pipeline, LLC v. 38.00 Acres held that landowners may recover reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs in an expropriation case when those expenses are part of the “full extent of loss” guaranteed by La. Const. art. I, § 4, and the Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed the fee-and-cost award on constitutional (not statutory) grounds.


Bayou Bridge Pipeline, LLC v. 38.00 Acres, More or Less, Located in St. Martin Parish, et al., 320 So.3d 1054 (2021)