Case Explained: FinalOpinion in case# 23-2309

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Filed: 2026-07-30 The seventh-circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians against Enbridge Energy Company, Inc., holding that Enbridge is liable for trespass and unjust enrichment because its rights-of-way over allotted trust lands within the reservation expired in 2013 and were not renewed with the requisite tribal consent. The court rejected Enbridge’s arguments that a 1992 agreement obligated the Band to consent to future easements or that the Administrative Procedure Act preserved the expired easements pending administrative review, finding that neither federal common law nor Wisconsin contract principles support such an expansive reading of tribal sovereign authority or contractual intent. Regarding remedies, the court affirmed that restitution and injunctive relief are available for intentional trespass on Indian lands but vacated the district court’s specific awards due to errors in calculation and discretion. The court found the restitution award abused discretion by potentially double-counting Enbridge’s profits and the economic benefit of deferred reroute costs, and by improperly discounting the latter based on pipeline mileage. Furthermore, while affirming that injunctive relief is warranted to protect tribal sovereignty, the court held the district court exceeded its discretion in imposing a three-year shutdown deadline, as this risked violating the U.S.-Canada Transit Treaty and harming public energy interests; instead, the injunction must allow Enbridge a reasonable opportunity to complete its proposed reroute. Finally, the court reversed the district court’s judgment on the Band’s federal common law nuisance claim, holding that the Pipeline Safety Act (49 U.S.C. § 60101 et seq.) displaced federal common law in this area. The court determined that the Act’s comprehensive regulatory scheme, which delegates authority to the Secretary of Transportation and PHMSA to monitor pipeline safety and issue corrective orders, speaks directly to the risk of pipeline rupture due to erosion, leaving no gap for judicially created nuisance remedies. The case is remanded to the district court to recalculate the restitution award using a single, properly explained measure of Enbridge’s wrongful gain and to fashion injunctive relief that balances the Band’s sovereign rights with the public interest in uninterrupted energy flow and treaty obligations. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.