10-0950 Enbridge Pipelines (East Texas) L.P. v. Avinger Timber, LLC from Marion County and the Sixth District Court of Appeals, Texarkana For petitioner: Stephen G. Tipps, Houston For respondent: Glenn Sodd, Corsicana The principal issues in this condemnation-valuation dispute involving land on which a gas-processing plant exists are (1) whether testimony by the landowner's valuation expert violates the value-to-the-taker rule, that is, assessing the land value with the existing plant and easements instead of its value as rural residential property without those improvements and (2) whether the expert testimony violated the project-enhancement rule that precludes valuing for condemnation purposes the property as it has been enhanced. In this case Enbridge Pipelines took over an affiliate's lease of Avinger Timber's land used for the processing plant. When Avinger and Enbridge failed to agree on renewal terms, Enbridge, as a pipeline company with condemnation power, petitioned to take the land. In the valuation trial, the court denied the pipeline's challenge to Avinger's expert, who assessed value based on factors including the existing plant, the pipelines that connected to it and how much Enbridge would pay if the lease terminated and it had to remove the plant and other improvements. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court's decision to accept the Avinger expert's testimony and reject Enbridge's. This advisory serves only as an abbreviated guide to oral argument. Summaries are prepared by the Court's staff attorney for public information and reflect his judgment alone on facts and legal issues and in no way represent the Court's opinion about case merits. Texas Supreme Court advisory Contact: Osler McCarthy, Staff Attorney for Public Information (512) 463.1441 or email: osler.mccarthy@courts.state.tx.us