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Property Keyed to Saxer
Anna F. Nordhus Family Trust v. United States
Facts
The Anna F. Nordhus Family Trust and several other Kansas real property owners (Plaintiffs) granted an easement to Union Pacific Railroad so that railroad tracks could be laid and trains could run along an 8.13-mile corridor of land. After a period of use, Union Pacific discontinued service along the corridor. Thereafter, the Federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) informed Plaintiffs that it planned to use the abandoned railroad corridor for trail use, permitted by the National Trails System Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1241 et seq. (the Trails Act), a procedure known as “railbanking.” Plaintiffs sued the United States (Defendant) alleging that the Trails Act, which prevented the 8.13-mile corridor from reverting back to Plaintiff property owners once Union Pacific abandoned its use, constituted a taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment on liability. The court heard both parties’ motions.
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