line easement traverses the property, what we in slang refer to as the ‘cut.’ A diagonal cut through the heart of the ranch is worse than something on the back,” in some cases. Zabel said, “When we get ready for trial to see if
pipelines will affect what people will pay for prop- erty, most times the buyers say the pipeline doesn’t bother them, but that power line did. The pipeline is underground but the buyer said, ‘I paid less because of power line.’ “When we’ve tried to do what you call paired sales,
compare 2 properties and see why someone paid less for a particular piece of property, I’ve had buyers tell us they paid less because it had a power line on it,” he said. Malewitz summarized Brady and Zabel’s comments
saying, “From what I’m hearing, the best advice either of you could give is get involved really early in the pro- cess.” Zabel agreed, “The longer you sit on your rights, the fewer rights you will have. Get involved early.” Brady suggested landowners might get a disinterested
third party to look at their ranch and get their thoughts on how a line might affect it. “Talk to someone who can look at your property with fresh eyes, who can think of ways it might affect the property or potential use of the property that isn’t apparent to someone there every day working it. “It’s important to think of not just today, but the
future. As I make a point in cross exam in virtually every power line hearing I do, we have never in Texas taken down a mile of 345 KV power line. It’s going to be there forever,” Brady said.
Creative considerations Pipelines, being buried, are different, but “that infra-
structure is going to be there a long time,” Brady pointed out, and existing lines may be converted to other uses. “It’s really important that you think through long-term implications and often times the best way to do that is fi nd somebody and talk through it early,” he said. Zabel agreed with Brady’s comments and encouraged
listeners to “get the right-of-way guy out there to your property and show them” if you have something you think is valuable or unique on your property. “Some- one seeing something is much more compelling than telling them something.” Showing these valuable as- sets to the company representative, Zabel said, “makes it easier for the right-of-way person to go back to the head offi ce and make the change.” Zabel said his clients won’t make wide moves that would affect the entire ranch, but if it’s a matter of “go-
tscra.org
“It’s important to think of not just today, but the future,” Zach Brady said at the Private Property Rights Town Hall.
ing around signifi cant features on the property, trees, getting away from structures, things of that nature, if you get in early, I think the pipeline company is willing to discuss that. I’ve seen a lot of success with getting some deviation to satisfy both parties.” Brady agreed, saying, “We do this sort of thing
often in terms of trading non-monetary conditions for monetary compensation. I’ve had 2 pipeline cases I’ve settled this year where part of the settlement was boring, as opposed to trenching the pipeline and dis- turbing the surface.” Zabel related a case of creative settlement in which
a landowner asked a pipeline company to move an ex- isting pipeline and follow the boundary of the property for the next pipeline. In return, the landowner offered to give the pipeline company the next easement free. “The pipeline company agreed to reroute existing line and install both lines along the property line. Pipeline companies can be fl exible. Not always, but they can be. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. The sooner you ask the better chance you might get something you want.” Both attorneys encouraged landowners to get legal
help with developing an easement for a pipeline or power line. “If you don’t negotiate an easement with a pipeline
company that provides the protections that you want from here on for future generations on your property, then if it goes to condemnation you get the terms of a petition which are not near as robust as what your easement’s going to be,” Zabel says. “If you go through the condemnation and it goes through the system, you may get more money, but you’re not going to get the protections that you would in an easement. It’s always good to, early on, get with a lawyer who knows what they are doing to help guide you through the process to get what you’re looking for.”
July 2014 The Cattleman 63
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