Some landowners in Red Head, east of Saint John, say their property was improperly expropriated to benefit a private company and are asking a judge to order it returned to them.

Their land was expropriated to build a road to the Irving-Repsol liquified natural gas terminal. The road provides a secondary access through the seaside community, located on the eastern fringe of Saint John.

It also provides an alternate to the current road, which is perched on a soft cliff high above the Bay of Fundy and is crumbling away, thanks to tides that have been slowly eating away its base.

The new road will handle the increased truck traffic to and from the planned LNG terminal at Mispec.

A contract agreed last year between the City of Saint John and Irving Oil said the company would pay the costs of building the road and buying the land, but that the city would have to handle any expropriations.

During hearings this spring, the expropriation was ruled to be fair and reasonable and construction on the road is well underway.

But on Tuesday, two families and one company whose land was taken away took the case to the Court of Queen's Bench.

Lawyer Norm Bosse asked the court to declare the expropriation null and void, arguing that the city effectively expropriated the land for a private company.

"They had delegated their powers effectively to the Irving Oil Ltd. and they were controlling the building the highway," said Bosse.

"They ought not to have done it that way and should not be permitted to continue to do it that way."

The lawyer representing the city, Thomas O'Neil, said there's no evidence that the road will be a private highway. O'Neil acknowledged that the Irving companies will benefit from the road, but noted that the public will also be allowed to use it and the city will retain ownership.

O'Neil said the city had plans to build a road in the area as far back as 2002, but didn't have the money to do so until the deal was reached with Irving.

Justice William Grant reserved his decision until Sept. 12.