No. 19-1107

Clinton L. Sides, et ux. v. Central Kansas Conservancy, Inc.

Lower Court: Kansas
Docketed: 2020-03-10
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: adverse-easement adverse-possession federal-law national-trail-system-act prescriptive-easement property-reactivation property-rights rail-banking railroad-right-of-way servient-estate trail-use-easement
Key Terms:
Arbitration
Latest Conference: 2020-05-01
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Does federal law preclude the application of state adverse possession/prescriptive easement doctrines to trail-use easements created under the National Trail System Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1247(d), such that the owner of the servient estate cannot establish a right to use the property pending its reactivation for railroad purposes?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED This case concerns the extent to which federal law permitting the rail-banking of unused railroad right-of-way so that it is not abandoned restricts the ability of the servient owner to establish a right to use the property pending reactivation for railroad purposes. The question presented is: Does federal law preclude the application of state adverse easement doctrines to trail-use easements created under the National Trail System Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1247(d), such that the owner of the servient estate cannot establish a right to use the property pending its reactivation for railroad purposes?

Docket Entries

2020-05-04
Petition DENIED.
2020-04-15
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/1/2020.
2020-03-24
Waiver of right of respondent Central Kansas Conservancy, Inc. to respond filed.
2020-03-06
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due April 9, 2020)

Attorneys

Central Kansas Conservancy, Inc.
Casey R. LawWise & Reber, L.C., Respondent
Casey R. LawWise & Reber, L.C., Respondent
Michael T. Mills — Respondent
Michael T. Mills — Respondent
Clinton Sides, et al.
Patrick B. HughesAdams Jones Law Firm, P.A., Petitioner
Patrick B. HughesAdams Jones Law Firm, P.A., Petitioner