= new reply since forum marked as read
It expired years ago. They negotiated for a replacement, and the BIA granted it.
That easement was revoked and when sued it was found that the BIA didn't follow the proper procedure. No word on the motivation for the suit.
Negotiations proceeded, but there's no indication as to how much was offered or what happened. At some point, years later, the Kiowa Tribe (a very small part-owner of the land) filed suit to have the pipeline removed. Presumably negotiations broke down--perhaps on principle ("we want to honor the mother earth and refuse to allow mineral extraction at all"
or perhaps it was more mercenary ("yes, it's god-forsaken wilderness and it's a small section of pipeline, but we have you by the nads and you pay us big $ or pack up" .
Which a person picks in the absence of any information says nothing about the Kiowa or the landowners and much more about the person doing the choosing.
For what it's worth, if I read the case right the easement is for a 411-foot stretch of pipeline. Either this is a very strangely parcel of land or it cuts across a corner. The parcel is 137 acres and the easement is 0.73 acres of that. The land has 38 owners. The tribe, if I read it right, got their 1.1% interest when an Indian died without heirs or willed the property to somebody ineligible to inherit it under a 2004 revision to federal law. I imagine it's tough to do much with 38 owners; only 50% + 1 has to agree, but the largest share is 28% or so, and the smallest is less than 1%.
In any event, the plaintiffs (energy company) tried to say that (a) statute of limitations ran out, so an implied easement existed; (b) a sufficient number of landowners, 10, had agreed to an easement under OK law, so the courts could accept this as sufficient to satisfy federal law.
The courts didn't find the former; and they didn't find the latter.
It's routine.
As for the company, for 2015, "Income before income taxes was $314 million against loss before income taxes of $771 million a year ago." Total revenues were upwards of $2 billion, but expenses and salaries cut into that (of course). No clue what post-tax income was.
