SFPP Right-of-Way Claims

A FTI/Compass Lexecon team led by Scott Jones, Eric Henson and Andrew Lemon provided analysis of class certification issues related to alleged trespassing and other inappropriate land-use claims in U.S. District Court in both Arizona and the Central District of California against our client, Union Pacific. In February and May of 2017, our client successfully defeated class certification in both Courts. The allegations in the cases were derived from land grants and easements dating back to the 1800s, which were given to railroad companies in order to advance the United States’ interest in connecting the population centers in the eastern portion of the country with the western seaboard. Our analysis showed that determining the ownership of each parcel of land along the railroad corridor is a prerequisite for finding economic harm for proposed class members and that such ownership could not be determined without individual inquiry. Our team supported the legal work of Tammy Webb, John Sherk and Joe Rebein of Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP.