The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's opinion in Stimson Lumber Co. v. United States, No. 22-1201 (Oct. 2, 2023) does not add a lot to the overall regulatory takings canon, but the court and the caption might give you a hint that this one is a Trails Act takings claim.
As is often the case in these type of cases, the dispositive issue is a question of state property law; here, whether railbanking is within the scope of the easement for a "right of way" which Stimson's predecessor-in-title granted. The court concluded that under Oregon law, this was a "general terms" easement, which allows "unlimited reasonable use," and was not limited to a right of way for railroad purposes. In short, the terms of the easement itself contemplated virtually any use.
We've been down this (rail)road before, as we noted in this amicus brief in a similar case involving the New York City High Line. So we're not going to dive much deeper into the issue, since it turns on the Federal Circuit's interpretation and application of Oregon's property law.
The court rejected the argument that -- come on, man -- an easement for a "right of way" to a railroad company kinda musta been for, you know, a railroad purpose. That might make a whole lot of sense, but it ain't the law, at least in Oregon. The court also rejected the argument that a grant of a "general" easement isn't really an easement at all, and that by definition, an easement is to use property for some specific use (a "general" easement is really a grant in fee simple). This was the argument our brief in the case linked above made (to no avail).
The court concluded that the easement thus has not been abandoned, and with no property interest having been transferred, there's no takings liability for the United States for allowing interim trail use.
We end on this note. What's the deal with the above clip from Buster Keaton's silent classic, "The General?" Although the picture -- set in the Civil War -- takes place in Georgia, it was shot in Oregon, including the famous train wreck scene (yes, Keaton really did crash a train into the river).
Now that seems like a "railroad purpose."
Stimson Lumber Co. v. United States, No. 22-1201 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 2, 2023)
