WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the federal
government has no claim to rights of way abandoned by rail roads, a victory for
property owners that could undermine plans for a nationwide network of
recreational trails.
During America's westward expansion in the 19th century,
Congress gave public land to private railroads to spur development of a
transcontinental transportation network.
Not every project was successful, however. In 1996, one such
railroad in Wyoming gave up and tore out the tracks. The U.S. Forest Service
then sought to use the rights of way—which passed through the Medicine Bow
National Forest and 31 parcels of private property—for public trails. All but
one property owner acquiesced to the plan: Marvin Brandt, whose 83-acre
property was the largest, and one associated with his family since his father
began working at a local sawmill in 1939.
The government argued that when the railroad ended
operations, some property rights reverted to the government, like using the
right of way for a trail.
Mr. Brandt, represented by the conservative Mountain States
Legal Foundation, contended that under the 1875 act providing the right of way,
the railroad held only an easement, or limited right to use another's property
for a specific purpose, which expired when that use was abandoned. By a vote of
8-1, the Supreme Court agreed.
In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John
Roberts wrote that the court had settled the question in a 1942 opinion
rejecting a railroad's plan to drill for oil on its right of way in Montana. At
that time, he said, the government argued Congress "granted an easement
and nothing more." Just as the court said then the easement included no
right to "the underlying oil and minerals," today it provides no
right for continued use of the right of way for hikers and bicyclists.
"The Government loses [its] argument today, in large
part because it won when it argued the opposite before this Court more than 70
years ago," he wrote.
Only Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented. She wrote
that the 1942 case concerned only subterranean rights, not the surface
transportation uses provided in the 1875 act.
"The Court undermines the legality of thousands of
former rights of way that the public now enjoys as means of transportation and
recreation," she wrote. "And lawsuits challenging the conversion of
former rails to recreational trails alone may well cost American taxpayers
hundreds of millions of dollars."
The Justice Department currently is defending more than 90
lawsuits challenging Rails-to-Trails projects involving 10,000 properties in
over 30 states, amounting to "aggregate legal claims in the hundreds of
millions of dollars," according to a government report.
William Perry Pendley, president of the Mountain States
Legal Foundation, said the contested site, at 9,000-feet elevation, is
"under snow from late October until June.…The idea that a bunch of people
is going to come out there and start riding that trail is asinine."
Since 2006, when the tracks were ripped out, Mr. Brandt
"has seen only about 50 bikers total," Mr. Pendley said.
"Mostly, he's seen horseback riders, ATV riders and motorcycle riders, and
those three uses are prohibited."
"It's an area that used to be forest, and the forest is
trying to come back," Mr. Pendley said. "The trail is filled with
spikes of trees trying to come back."
The Justice Department is reviewing the decision, a
spokeswoman said. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a Washington-based nonprofit
that filed a friend-of-the-court brief, called the ruling
"disappointing."
"Our legal team is currently analyzing the ruling and
determining what the next steps will be in the courts, as well as what this
means for rail-trails across the country," it said in a statement.
In January, Kevin Mills, a vice president of the group, said
a loss in the case "would not only potentially block the completion of the
Medicine Bow Rail Trail, but could also threaten existing rail-trails across
America that utilize federally-granted rights-of-way…Just like our national
parks, these former rail corridors are public assets in which we all share and
benefit."
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2014/03/10/supreme-court-sides-with-landowner-in-rails-to-trails-case/
Updated March 10, 2014 6:39 p.m. ET, by Jess Bravin at jess.bravin@wsj.com Supreme Court Sides
With Landowner in Rails-to-Trails Case
Comments:
State
legislators should look at Georgia “right of way” laws to strengthen property
rights for land owners. We have
excessive easements and right of way parcels that should revert back to
property owners when it becomes clear that they are not being used. These property
rights need to be brought into compliance with the U.S. Constitution (as
written) that requires “just compensation”.
The U.S. Constitution also does not allow the federal government to own
land, but Teddy Roosevelt didn’t agree.
I am amazed
that we all pay taxes on all of our land, but are restricted from using parts
of it. If it really belongs to a utility
or a government, let them pay us for it.
Then let them pay the taxes on it.
Norb Leahy
Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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