Supreme Court Backs Landowners in Abandoned Railway Dispute

In March, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the landowner in a pivotal Fifth Amendment property rights case that will allow thousands of people to maintain ownership of millions of acres of land across the country. By an 8-1 vote in Brandt v. United States, the Court preserved the certainty and predictability in land titles and upheld one of the fundamental policies of the country’s property law system.

Arent Fox filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of several interested parties and Complex Litigation partner Debra Albin-Riley recently published an article in the Daily Journal that highlights key aspects of the decision.

In the article, Ms. Albin-Riley writes that the “March 10 decision reversed rulings by the district court and the 10^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and resolves this conflict in the lower courts over this question: What happens when a right of way granted to a railroad by statute is later abandoned by the railroad? The Supreme Court’s answer: The land goes to the party owning that property underlying the right of way, and does not automatically revert to the government.”

Arent Fox represents more than 750 landowners across the country who are pursuing Fifth Amendment takings claims against the federal government. A seasoned trial lawyer who also handles complex multiparty and health care litigation, Ms. Albin-Riley has developed a nationally-recognized trial practice, including Fifth Amendment takings cases.

To read the Daily Journal article, click here.