Swinomish Indian Tribal Community v BNSF Railway Company

  1. March 17, 2025

    Wash. AG Backs Tribe's $400M Trespass Win Against BNSF

    The state of Washington has said the Ninth Circuit should uphold a trial judge's ruling that BNSF Railway Co. owes nearly $400 million for years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, arguing in an amicus brief the railroad must be held accountable for perpetuating "a pattern of disregard for the sovereignty of Native people."

  2. March 10, 2025

    Tribe Says BNSF Can't Derail $400M Trespass Judgment

    A Washington tribe is urging the Ninth Circuit to uphold a lower court's finding that BNSF Railway Co. must pay nearly $400 million for years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, saying the railroad's claim that it strips away lawfully earned profits "makes little sense."

  3. December 09, 2024

    BNSF Asks 9th Circ. To Upend Tribe's $400M Trespass Win

    BNSF Railway Co. has argued the Ninth Circuit should reverse a lower court's finding that the company owes a Washington tribe nearly $400 million for years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, saying the "massive penalty" is excessive because it strips away lawfully earned profits.

  4. July 12, 2024

    BNSF Puts Up $426M To Stay Tribe's Win Pending Appeal

    BNSF Railway Co. on Friday asked a federal judge to approve a $426 million security bond and to stay enforcement of a nearly $400 million judgment for trespassing across a Washington tribe's territory, while the railroad appeals.

  5. June 17, 2024

    BNSF Owes Wash. Tribe $400M For Oil Shipping Trespass

    BNSF Railway Co. must pay a Washington tribe nearly $400 million for years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, a federal judge in Seattle ruled Monday.

  6. May 30, 2024

    BNSF Says It Owes Tribe Up To $30M For Oil Train Trespasses

    BNSF Railway Co. said Wednesday it should pay a Washington tribe either $10 million or $30 million for years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, after a federal judge rejected both the railroad's $7 million and the tribe's $445 million calculations. 

  7. May 21, 2024

    BNSF Judge Said Trespass Payout Will Be Distance-Based

    BNSF Railway Co. will have to give up profits from at least part of its 1,500-mile oil shipment route to compensate a Washington tribe for nearly a decade of train trespassings across a less-than-mile-long easement, a federal judge ruled Monday.

  8. May 16, 2024

    BNSF Judge Vows To Avoid Extremes In Trespass Payout

    A federal judge said Thursday that BNSF Railway Co. will likely have to fork over profits from its entire 1,500-mile oil shipment route to compensate a Washington tribe for nearly a decade of train trespassings across a less-than-mile-long easement, but the judge said the disgorgement won't be the hundreds of millions the tribe is seeking.

  9. April 29, 2024

    BNSF Balks At $1.3B Demand For Trespass On Tribal Lands

    BNSF Railway Co. has told a federal Washington court to reject a tribe's bid for $1.3 billion in damages from years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, arguing that its financial responsibility should be limited to the small land area it trespassed.

  10. April 23, 2024

    BNSF Lowballing Oil Train Trespass Payout, Tribe Says

    A Washington tribe said Monday that BNSF Railway Co. raked in $500 million for shipping crude oil across its reservation for nearly a decade, calling the railroad's calculation that it should pay less than $175,000 for the illegal trespass an affront to the tribe's sovereign and treaty rights.