The National Association of Realtors (NAR), joined by the Realtors Land Institute and the American Farm Bureau Federation, filed an amicus brief in Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission, a U.S. Supreme Court case that could significantly affect property owners’ rights when private companies exercise federally delegated eminent-domain authority. The case stems from WBI’s acquisition of easements across North Dakota ranchland for a natural gas pipeline authorized under the Natural Gas Act (NGA). After the landowners rejected WBI’s offer at substantially below market value and successfully obtained a higher valuation in court, they were awarded attorneys fees and litigation expenses under North Dakota law. The 8th Circuit reversed that award, holding that compensation in NGA condemnations is limited to the Fifth Amendment’s federal standard of “just compensation,” which generally excludes litigation costs and attorneys fees. The Supreme Court agreed to review the case to resolve whether landowners subject to condemnation under the NGA may rely on state-law compensation protections or are limited to the federal constitutional standard of just compensation. Read more at the NAR website.
Source: NAR; 8/21/2026