The Oklahoma Department of Transportation has had to go to federal court as it attempts to purchase a tiny bit of land for highway improvements in Pawnee County. And a U.S. District judge in Tulsa has ruled the DOT must dot all the “Is” and cross all the “Ts” in order to do it.
The DOT filed suit in May against the U.S. Department of Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs along with nine individuals who own land where the state wants right of way access.
At issue is only 0.04 acres but Judge Claire V. Eagan laid out some specifics before the state can proceeds. The judge ruled the DOT must directly serve the Department of Interior and the BIA by delivering a summons to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma. The U.S. Attorney General must also be served.
As for the nine individuals, one is dead and the heirs cannot be located so the Judge is allowing the DOT to notify them by publication in a newspaper. The other defendants must be served directly and also by publication.
