Scherger v. Northern Natural Gas Co.

In 1931, Northern Natural Gas Co. (Northern) (defendant) obtained a blanket easement over farm property, including the right to construct, inspect, repair, maintain, and replace a pipeline, and built the original pipeline in 1932. After the Schergers (plaintiffs) bought the farm, Northern notified them in 1995 that it would replace the pipeline along a slightly new path within the original easement boundaries and paid them $905 in compensation; the Schergers argued a Minnesota statute required Northern to provide a specific easement description and demanded a new negotiated easement or condemnation proceedings, contending the 1931 agreement's easement location was fixed to wherever the original pipeline was actually installed. The court of appeals agreed with the Schergers that the original pipeline's location defined the easement's boundaries, and Northern appealed.