United States Supreme Court Addresses Abandonment of Railroad Easements

Underlying fee property owners and not the United States are entitled to the fee simple interest in an abandoned railroad easement.

As an eminent domain specialist, I also follow legal developments relating to easements.  I also frequently address title issues.  Sometimes, owners take advantage of the filing of an eminent domain case that necessarily names all interested parties in a property to file cross-claims that both quiet title defects and establish the owner’s entitlement to unallocated just compensation proceeds.  Therefore, issues relating to title are related to my condemnation practice.

The United States Supreme Court recently issued an Opinion discussing the ramifications of abandonment of easements.  Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust, et al. v. United States, which contains an interesting discussion of the history of railroad development in the western United States, held that the rights to an abandoned railway easement reverted to the fee simple property owner.  In doing so, the Supreme Court reiterated that under general common law rules easements may be unilaterally terminated by abandonment, leaving the underlying fee title holder within an unencumbered interest in the property.  Since railroad abandonment occurs through a specific statutory procedure that was followed in this matter, the case does not discuss the elements necessary to establish abandonment.  The case focuses upon the interests that Congress intended the United States to retain when it authorized railroads to obtain easements pursuant to a specific statute in effect from 1875 until 1976.  Therefore, while the ruling may be narrowly applicable to one particular statute involving railroads, the holding may be informative about a wider variety of abandoned right of way corridors.  A link to the full text of the case can be found here.

If you have any questions about easement or title issues, whether they relate to an eminent domain matter or not, please do not hesitate to contact me.