Bakken oil crude

Washington Federal Court Orders BNSF to Pay Nearly $400M in Trespass Damages to Swinomish

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order in Swinomish Tribal Community v. BNSF (W.D. Wash.):

301 DCT Order.pdfDownload
Miigwetch to Jack Fiander for this image.

Prior post here.

Washington Federal Court Holds that Railroad is Liable for Trespass on Swinomish Lands

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the available trial materials from Swinomish Indian Tribal Community v BNSF Railway Company (W.D. Wash.):

207 Swinomish Trial Brief

208 BNSF Trial Brief

And here is the judge’s decision:

216-dct-orderDownload

Prior post here.

Federal Court Denies Motion to Dismiss in Swinomish Suit against BNSF Railroad

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials in Swinomish Indian Tribal Community v BNSF Railway Company (W.D. Wash.):

8 BNSF Motion to Dismiss or Stay

11 Response

13 Reply

19 DCT Order

We posted the complaint here.

The Stranger on the Swinomish Tribe’s Fight against BNSF’s Railroad

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is “How One Tribe Could Slow the Rate of “Bomb Trains” Through Seattle.”An excerpt:

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community couldn’t have known that more than a century later, crude-oil trains would be rattling along that very route—and across reservation land—carrying with them a well-established risk of derailing and exploding. In fact, the only way today’s Swinomish people knew that trains full of crude oil were passing through their land was from media reports in 2012. They’re not alone. As it stands, railroads still don’t have to disclose crude-by-rail routes.