LAREDO, Texas — A company owned by Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh
Beckett is suing a pipeline builder, claiming it destroyed the habitat of
the endangered ocelot on a South Texas ranch.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Laredo says Eagle Ford Midstream LP
violated the federal Endangered Species Act by clearing land to build a
natural gas pipeline.
The suit says the pipeline company was
awarded eminent domain on land owned by Beckett Ventures Inc. and
falsely told the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that it wasn't
suitable habitat for the endangered wild cat.
Beckett's company
claims the pipeline builder engaged in "willful destruction" by clearing
land after a notice of intent to sue was filed in August.
A phone message left with Eagle Ford Midstream's parent company wasn't immediately returned.