NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY v. DILLE ROAD RECYCLING, LLC - Articles

All Content

NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY v. DILLE ROAD RECYCLING, LLC

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Feb 26, 2024

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED and ON BRIEF: Tobias S. Loss-Eaton, SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED and ON BRIEF: David M. Cuppage, MCCARTHY, LEBIT, CRYSTAL & LIFFMAN CO., LPA, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Timothy J. Strafford, STEPTOE & JOHNSON LLP, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae.

Judge(s): BOGGS, READLER, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland

BOGGS, Circuit Judge. This case concerns a narrow parcel of land (the “Parcel”)—roughly 600 feet by 32 feet—that runs adjacent to Norfolk Southern Railway Company’s active rail line in Euclid, Ohio. No one disputes that Norfolk owns the Parcel. But Dille Road Recycling, which owns the property on the other side of the Parcel, has occupied and used the Parcel for nearly two decades. A few years ago, the parties began an out-of-court dispute over the Parcel’s use. After negotiations stalled, the parties took the matter to federal court. Dille sought adverse possession of the Parcel or, alternatively, a prescriptive easement. Norfolk sought a declaration that Dille’s property claims were preempted by the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA). The district court held that Dille’s prescriptive-easement claim was not preempted, and then granted Dille its easement. We disagree with the district court’s threshold conclusion. Because federal law does preempt Dille’s state-law prescriptive-easement claim, we reverse.

Attachments: