Swinomish Indian Tribal Community v BNSF Railway Company

  1. May 16, 2024

    BNSF Judge Vows To Avoid Extremes In Trespass Payout

    A federal judge said Thursday that BNSF Railway Co. will likely have to fork over profits from its entire 1,500-mile oil shipment route to compensate a Washington tribe for nearly a decade of train trespassings across a less-than-mile-long easement, but the judge said the disgorgement won't be the hundreds of millions the tribe is seeking.

  2. April 29, 2024

    BNSF Balks At $1.3B Demand For Trespass On Tribal Lands

    BNSF Railway Co. has told a federal Washington court to reject a tribe's bid for $1.3 billion in damages from years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, arguing that its financial responsibility should be limited to the small land area it trespassed.

  3. April 23, 2024

    BNSF Lowballing Oil Train Trespass Payout, Tribe Says

    A Washington tribe said Monday that BNSF Railway Co. raked in $500 million for shipping crude oil across its reservation for nearly a decade, calling the railroad's calculation that it should pay less than $175,000 for the illegal trespass an affront to the tribe's sovereign and treaty rights.

  4. April 01, 2024

    BNSF Says Tribe Can't Claim $1.3B For Oil Train Trespassings

    BNSF Railway Co. has asserted a Washington tribe is not entitled to $1.3 billion for the shipping of crude oil across its reservation for nearly a decade, arguing the tribe wants to strip railroad profits from a 1,500-mile route when the illegal trespassing occurred across an easement less than a mile long.

  5. July 18, 2023

    Judge Derails BNSF's Arb. Bid In Tribe's Oil Shipping Suit

    BNSF Railway Co. will have to hash out damages due to a Washington-based Native American tribe in court, a Washington federal judge ruled, rejecting the railway's bid to allow an arbitrator to determine the money it owes to the tribe for shipping crude oil across reservation land for more than eight years.

  6. June 05, 2023

    Wash. Tribe Fights BNSF's Arbitration Bid In Oil Shipping Row

    The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community says BNSF Railway Co. is attempting to force the tribe into arbitration based on a "plainly inapplicable arbitration clause," urging a Washington federal judge to reject the rail company's request that an arbitrator determine how much compensation BNSF owes to the tribe for shipping crude oil across reservation land for more than eight years.

  7. May 15, 2023

    BNSF Seeks Arbitration Of Damages Owed To Tribe

    BNSF Railway Co. told a Washington federal judge an arbitrator should determine how much compensation it owes to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community for running excess train cars across reservation lands for nearly nine years, after the tribe did not respond to its $21.7 million offer.

  8. March 27, 2023

    Wash. Judge Hands Tribe A Win In BNSF Right-Of-Way Suit

    BNSF Railway Company "willfully, consciously and knowingly" trespassed when it violated its easement agreement with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community by shipping crude oil across reservation land for more than eight years, a Washington federal judge ruled Monday.

  9. March 20, 2023

    Tribe Pans 'Less Favorable' Deal In BNSF Right-Of-Way Trial

    A Washington tribe's attorney on Monday gave a peek into its internal deliberations with BNSF Railway Company over how many of its trains could travel over its tribal land, testifying that BNSF was trying to corner them into a deal that would leave them with less money and less control over their own land.

  10. March 14, 2023

    Judge Says Treaty Rights Relevant In BNSF Right-Of-Way Suit

    Testimony related to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community's treaty rights can be introduced during trial in a case alleging that BNSF Railway Co. willfully violated the tribe's easement agreement by shipping crude oil across reservation land, a Washington federal judge ruled Tuesday.