The Most Humble Farm Is Protected in "Takings" Cases

1/ “SAVE THE FARM”:  The Minnesota Legislature decided it was important to help utilities to build a huge power-line between the nuclear power plant at Monticello and a transfer station in Fargo.  To help the utilities, the Legislature gave them the power to go into court and seek “eminent domain” power to build seven-story towers on people’s land for the CapX2020 power-line project. 

Some of these towers were to be built just 150 feet from people’s houses.  The line extends 700 miles toward the Pacific Northwest.

To protect the land-owners’ rights, the Legislature required that owners could either negotiate settlements with the utilities to tolerate the towers, or they could ask a court to set a fair price and require the utilities to buy their property.  This was called the “Buy the Farm” option.

Dale and Janet Tauer owned a nine-acre farmstead, and they elected to require the utilities to buy the entire property for a fair price, as required by the statute.  The utilities’ lawyers asked the courts to ignore the statute and consider how small the foot-print of the tower would be compared to the nine-acre plot.

Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote: “Absent a constitutional challenge, which this case does not present, we are limited to interpreting the plain language of the statute.  Great River’s proposed interpretation of the Buy-the-Farm statute adds factors to the statute, is inconsistent with the statute’s language, and is unsupported by our case law.  In approving the election, the district court considered the factors listed in the plain language of the statute; the district court found that the Tauers’ land is contiguous, commercially viable, and non-homestead agricultural land.  Great River does not dispute these findings and that ends the inquiry.”

READ THE FULL CASE DECISION:
Great River Energy, et al., Appellants, vs David D. Swedzinski, et al., Respondents.

March 4, 2015    A13-1474,               2015-022*      

https://mn.gov/law-library-stat/archive/supct/2015/OPA131474-030415.pdf