Judge orders railway to pay Washington tribe nearly $400 million for trespassing with oil trains

A federal judge has ruled that BNSF Railway must pay nearly $400 million to a Native American tribe in Washington state. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik ruled Monday that the company intentionally trespassed when it repeatedly ran 100-car trains carrying crude oil across the Swinomish Tribe's reservation. Lasnik initially ruled last year that the the railway deliberately violated the terms of a 1991 easement with the tribe north of Seattle that allows trains to carry no more than 25 cars per day. The judge held a trial early this month to determine how much in profits BNSF made through trespassing and how much it should be required to disgorge.