Landowners in pipeline cases commonly attempt to introduce evidence that the existence of pipelines near their property will, in itself, reduce the value of their remaining land. In Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC v. 1.85 Acres of Land, Owned by Jacqueline J. Lucki, Case No. 7:19-cv-00147, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia faced similar claims and, in a nuanced opinion, rejected that evidence for purposes of determining damages.

With regard to the first category of evidence, the landowner’s expert, Dennis Gruelle, included in his report “various statements pertaining to fear and stigma associated with pipeline easements based on interviews with brokers who stated that ‘many buyers are afraid of a gas pipeline’ and ‘do not want to look at properties with gas pipelines.’” The court rejected this evidence out of hand, noting that there was no evidence linking any diminution in the value of the property to such fear and stigma as opposed to other factors and noting that anecdotal conversations relating to fears or perceptions were an insufficient basis for expert testimony. For similar reasons, the court rejected evidence of pipeline accidents elsewhere and similar evidence of the danger of such pipelines.