ELR Citation: 54 ELR 20082
No(s). 23-60536 (5th Cir. Jun 5, 2024)

The Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal of a constitutional challenge brought by a pipeline company concerning a 1949 permit a local levee board granted to the company to construct and maintain two pipelines across a levee in Mayersville, Mississippi. The company argued the board violated the Contracts Clause by imposing annual pipeline crossing fees on the company that were not contemplated by the permit because the permit was a contract that the board could not modify. The appellate court found the permit's straightforward, unambiguous text made clear that the parties lacked the mutuality of assent to have entered a contract, and thus that the company's claim necessarily failed. It affirmed dismissal.