The Fourth District Appellate Court affirmed compensation in three eminent domain cases in favor of an energy company represented by Spesia & Taylor.
During the condemnation proceedings, the defendants sought over $5,300,000 for 7.3 acres of permanent pipeline easements. Eight months after the cases were filed, attorney John Spesia effectively argued that the compensation owed for the 7.3 acres totaled $45,000. The trial court agreed with attorney Spesia, entered judgments totaling $45,000, and permitted construction of a pipeline project to begin immediately. Subsequently, the trial court ordered the defendants’ counsel to pay the energy company $25,000 in attorney’s fees as a sanction for making arguments that were not well-grounded in fact or law.
On appeal, attorney John Spesia and the Spesia & Taylor appellate team successfully advocated on behalf of the energy company.
The judgments totaling $45,000 and the sanction against the defendants’ counsel totaling $25,000 were affirmed by the Fourth District Appellate Court. See Enbridge Pipelines (Ill.), L.L.C. v. Temple, 2017 IL App (4th) 150346; see also Enbridge Pipelines (Ill.), L.L.C. v. Temple, 2019 IL App (4th) 150346. In addition, the Fourth District ordered defendants’ counsel to pay an additional $5,000 in sanctions for filing a frivolous appeal.
