Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-06-02156/USCOURTS-ca8-06-02156-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 450
Nature of Suit: Interstate Commerce
Cause of Action: 

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United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 06-2156

___________

Randolph C. Fletcher; *

Sheila A. Fletcher, *

*

Plaintiffs - Appellants, *

*

v. *

*

Burlington Northern and Santa *

Fe Railway Company; City *

of Carl Junction; *

James J. Wisdom, *

*

Defendants - Appellees, * Appeals from the United States

* District Court for the 

Doe Insurance Company, * Western District of Missouri.

*

Defendant, *

*

Joplin Trail Coalition, *

*

Defendant - Appellee. *

___________ 

No. 06-2159

___________ 

Jeff Lundein; Elizabeth Lundein, *

*

Plaintiffs - Appellants, *

Paul Hance; Kathleen Hance; *

Appellate Case: 06-2156 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/26/2007 Entry ID: 3271804
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Randolph C. Fletcher; Sheila * 

A. Fletcher; John C. Warner; *

Beverly G. Warner; John Fredrickson; *

Shirley Sue Fredrickson; Clayton *

A. Crosby; Carl Junction R-1, *

*

Plaintiffs, *

*

v. *

*

Burlington Northern and Sante *

Fe Railway Company; *

James J. Wisdom; City of *

Carl Junction, Missouri; *

*

Defendants - Appellees, *

*

Joplin Trail Coalition, *

*

Intervenor Defendant - Appellee, *

___________

No. 06-2162

___________

John Fredrickson; Shirley Sue * 

Fredrickson; Stephen Fredrickson; *

Tami Fredrickson, *

*

Plaintiffs - Appellants, *

*

v. *

*

Burlington Northern and Santa *

Fe Railway Company; City of *

Carl Junction; James J. Wisdom, *

Appellate Case: 06-2156 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/26/2007 Entry ID: 3271804
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*

Defendants - Appellees, *

*

Doe Insurance Company, *

*

Defendant, *

*

Joplin Trail Coalition, *

*

Defendant - Appellee. *

___________

No. 06-2164

___________

Carl Junction R-1, *

*

Plaintiff - Appellant, *

*

v. *

*

Burlington Northern and Santa *

Fe Railway Company; Joplin *

Trail Coalition, *

*

Defendants - Appellees. *

___________

Submitted: November 17, 2006

Filed: January 26, 2007

___________

Before MURPHY, ARNOLD, AND BENTON, Circuit Judges.

___________

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1

 The Honorable Richard E. Dorr, United States District Judge for the Western

District of Missouri. 

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MURPHY, Circuit Judge.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) agreed with the

Joplin Trail Coalition to convert a railroad right of way to trail use. Seven adjacent

landowners initiated state court actions claiming that the railroad had abandoned the

right of way and had failed to comply with statutory maintenance duties on their

property; they seek declaratory relief and damages. Two of the seven also claim that

the mayor of Carl Junction had improperly entered the town into negotiations to

convert the right of way. The cases were consolidated after they were removed to

federal court, and the district court1

 granted summary judgment to all defendants. The

landowners appeal, and we affirm.

I.

These consolidated actions arose out of BNSF's intent to abandon a rail line and

the decision of the Surface Transportation Board (Board) to cease the abandonment

process and allow trail use of the line pursuant to the National Trails System Act, 16

U.S.C. § 1247(d). The Trails Act provides for a process known as railbanking as an

alternative to complete abandonment of a rail line right of way. Congress created the

process of railbanking to preserve, where possible, unused railroad rights of way for

future rail service by temporarily converting the rights of way into recreational trails

until they are again needed for rail purposes. Presault v. Interstate Commerce

Comm’n, 494 U.S. 1, 5-7 (1990). The Act permits the Board to halt abandonment

proceedings if a railroad agrees to negotiate with a potential trail operator by issuing

a Notice of Interim Trail Use (NITU). 49 C.F.R. § 1152.29; Caldwell v. United States,

391 F.3d 1226, 1229 (Fed. Cir. 2004). If the railroad and the trail operator reach an

agreement prior to the expiration of the NITU, the NITU extends indefinitely, the right

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of way is railbanked, and the trail operator is permitted to use the right of way for trail

purposes. Id. 

BNSF filed notice with the Board on May 3, 2002 of its intent to abandon and

discontinue service over a 28 mile railroad line in Eastern Kansas and Southern

Missouri. BNSF also sought to expedite the abandonment by filing an exemption

from formal proceedings. Because the line had not been used in over two years, see

49 C.F.R. § 1152.50(b), the Board exempted BNSF from the formal procedures and

the abandonment was scheduled to become effective on June 22, 2002. 

On May 10, the Joplin Trail Coalition (Coalition) and the City of Carl Junction

filed “statements of willingness” with the Board, seeking a NITU to allow them to

continue negotiating with BNSF to convert the right of way for trail use instead of

abandoning it. The statements of willingness provided that the Coalition and the city

were “willing to assume full responsibility” for the management of the trail and any

liability arising out of the right of way.

BNSF agreed to negotiate, and the Board issued a NITU on June 21, 2002,

which suspended the abandonment process. This gave all interested parties the

opportunity to negotiate with BNSF about whether it would be willing to let the right

of way be maintained for public use instead of abandoning it. If the parties could

reach an agreement, the NITU would permit an indefinite period of public use without

BNSF being considered as having abandoned its interest. During this period the

NITU directed that BNSF was to “limit activities to the right-of-way” and “keep intact

the right-of-way underlying the tracks, including bridges, trestles, culverts and

tunnels.” Before the NITU expired, BNSF and the Coalition reached an "interim trail

use/railbanking and donation agreement" and BNSF donated its interest in the right

of way to the Coalition as trail operator by signing a quitclaim deed in September

2003. 

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2

 According to counsel, the fences had been damaged by a tornado.

3

 The record indicates that the school district only sought ownership over the

right of way in a quiet title count and not statutory damages. 

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Four months after the NITU had been issued, Jeff and Elizabeth Lundien,

owners of land adjacent to the right of way, wrote to BNSF requesting that it comply

with its statutory duties to clear brush along the right of way and to maintain fences

alongside it.2

 See Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 389.650; 655. BNSF responded two weeks later

in a letter informing the Lundiens that it had not used the rail line for over two years,

that the need for maintaining fences and the right of way ceased when it stopped using

the line, and that it had begun the formal abandonment process on May 3, 2002 by

filing its notice of abandonment with the Board. 

The Lundiens brought this action in state court against BNSF eight days after

they received its response to their maintenance request. The Lundiens request that the

court declare them owners of the portion of the right of way adjacent to their property,

arguing that BNSF's use of the right of way was only valid as long as the land was

being used for railroad purposes. The Lundiens also seek statutory damages for

BNSF's failure to comply with its legal duties. BNSF responded to their complaint

by raising federal preemption and removed the case to federal court on November 27,

2002. 

Nearly one year later, the district court consolidated the case with others

brought by the Fletchers, Fredricksons, Warners, Crosbys, Hances, and the Carl

Junction R-1 School District, all adjoining landowners to the right of way. The relief

sought in these cases is identical except for additional claims brought by the Fletchers

and Fredricksons against the City of Carl Junction and its mayor, James Wisdom.3

They seek a writ of mandamus ordering the mayor to withdraw from all proceedings

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4

 They claim that the mayor entered the city into negotiations about the right

of way without authorization from the Board of Aldermen. 

5

 After their quiet title claims were dismissed, the plaintiffs filed condemnation

actions against the United States in the Court of Federal Claims. Carl Junction R-1

School District v. United States, No. 05-3L; Hance v. United States, No. 05-4L.

Those claims are still pending. 

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before the Board and to reimburse the city for any legal fees it has incurred in the

process and damages for breach of the mayor's performance bond.4

The Coalition, as trail operator and owner of the right of way, moved to

intervene; its motion was granted on February 27, 2004. That same day, the district

court dismissed the quiet title claims without prejudice on the theory that it lacked

subject matter jurisdiction over them because they were attacks on a final order of the

board, citing Grantwood Village v. Mo. Pac. R.R., 95 F.3d 654, 657 (8th Cir. 1996).5

The Coalition then filed for summary judgment. The city and Mayor Wisdom also

moved for summary judgment on the grounds that the plaintiffs had not alleged an

injury, relying on affidavits that the city had not incurred any legal fees when it

appeared before the Board. The plaintiffs resisted the Coalition's summary judgment

motion and filed their own motion for summary judgment against the city and mayor.

BNSF also moved for summary judgment at the motion hearing on December 9, 2005.

The court granted summary judgment to all of the defendants, concluding that

the railroad's duties to the adjacent landowners ceased when the Coalition took

possession of the right of way and that plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue claims

against the city and mayor. The Fletchers, Lundiens, and Fredricksons appeal the

dismissal of their claims other than the dismissal of their quiet title cause of action. 

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II.

We review a grant of summary judgment de novo, using the same standard as

the district court. Bunch v. Canton Marine Towing Co., 419 F.3d 868, 870 (8th

Cir.2005). We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non moving party

and grant summary judgment if there is no issue of material fact and the moving party

is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Lund v. Hennepin County, 427 F.3d 1123,

1125 (8th Cir. 2005).

Appellants claim that BNSF is liable for violating its statutory duties to clear

brush alongside the right of way and to maintain fences adjacent to it and that they are

entitled to damages because the Mayor lacked authorization to enter the city into

proceedings before the Board. BNSF responds that summary judgment was

appropriate because plaintiffs’ claims are preempted, its duties to maintain the right

of way ceased when it filed with the Board its notice of intent to abandon the right of

way, and plaintiffs have not shown damages. Mayor Wisdom and the city assert that

summary judgment was proper as to them because the city never incurred expenses

during the Board proceedings and the mandamus request is moot because the city did

not enter into any agreement with BNSF. 

A.

Appellants allege that BNSF is liable for failing to comply with the statutory

responsibilities found in Chapter 389 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, entitled

“Regulation of Railroad Corporations.” The first of these statutes, Mo. Rev. Stat. §

389.650, requires “any railroad corporation running or operating any railroad in this

state” to “erect and maintain” fences, gates, and cattle guards on the “side of the road

where the same passes through.” Section 389.665 requires corporations “owning or

operating any railroad” to “keep the right of way reasonably clear of brush and high

weeds” for the purpose of preventing the spread of fire. At this stage we construe the

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facts in the light most favorable to the non moving party and assume for summary

judgment purposes that maintenance on the right of way and fence repair was needed.

Hinshaw v. Smith, 436 F.3d 997, 1004 (8th Cir. 2006). 

The statutes do not require a railroad to perform maintenance until the

landowners provide notice of the need for it. See Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 389.650(3)

(requiring at least five days notice); 389.665(1) (requiring at least three days notice).

In this case it is undisputed that appellants did not give BNSF notice of the need for

maintenance prior to issuance of the NITU. As a result, summary judgment would

have been appropriate if issuance of the NITU preempted BNSF's state law

responsibilities. Preemption, which is grounded in the Supremacy Clause of the

Constitution, U.S. Const. Art. VI, requires that a state law "give way" when it

"conflicts with or frustrates federal law." Chapman v. Lab One, 390 F.3d 620, 624

(8th Cir. 2004). A state law is preempted if (1) Congress explicitly prohibits state

regulation in an area; (2) Congress implicitly prohibits state regulation by pervasively

occupying the area; (3) state law directly conflicts with federal law; or (4) a federal

agency, acting within the scope of its delegated authority, intends its regulations to

have preemptive effect. Noe v. Henderson, 456 F.3d 868, 870 (8th Cir. 2006). 

We need not reach the question of preemption in this case, however. The

statutes by their own terms do not apply to a rail line after a NITU has been issued and

a right of way has been dedicated to trail use. See United States v. Allen, 406 F.3d

940, 946 (8th Cir. 2005) ("[W]e choose the narrowest ground [on which to decide a

case] in order to avoid unnecessary adjudication of constitutional issues"). The

statutory maintenance duties of railroads in Missouri extend only to railroad

companies “running or operating any railroad” or “owning or operating” a railroad

right of way. See Mo. Rev. Code §§ 389.650; 655. At the time BNSF received notice

of the need for repairs, the right of way had not been used for rail purposes in over

two years and would have been abandoned had the NITU not been issued. The NITU

halted the abandonment proceedings, authorized railbanking of the right of way, and

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converted the right of way to recreational uses. Appellants err in contending that the

NITU extend the amount of time for which BNSF remained responsible for complying

with statutory responsibilities of railroads. Because the NITU converted the right of

way to public uses, BNSF was no longer "running or operating any railroad" nor

"owning or operating" a railroad right of way when it received the notice required by

statute. We affirm the award of summary judgment in favor of BNSF on this basis.

Kratzer v. Rockwell Collins, Inc., 398 F.3d 1040, 1043 (8th Cir.2005) (“This court

may affirm a grant of summary judgment on any ground supported by the record, even

if not relied upon by the district court”).

B.

 

The Fletchers and Fredricksons also appeal the judgment entered in favor of the

city and Mayor Wisdom, arguing that the mayor lacked authority to enter the city into

proceedings before the Board. They request that a writ of mandamus be issued

ordering that the city withdraw from all proceedings before the Board and that Mayor

Wisdom reimburse the city for the legal expenses incurred in those proceedings as

well as the current litigation. The city and mayor assert that summary judgment in

their favor would be appropriate because of the facts that the plaintiffs lack standing

to assert damages on behalf of the city, that plaintiffs fail to demonstrate how they

were injured by Mayor Wisdom's action, and that subsequent events have made the

plaintiffs’ request for mandamus moot.

It is unnecessary to reach the merits of these appellants’ contentions. They

failed to rebut affidavits supplied by the city and mayor stating that the municipality

did not incur any expenses from its involvement in the Board proceedings and have

not cited any authority for their novel argument that the fees the city continues to

incur in defending here constitute a cognizable injury to them. As a result, plaintiffs

have failed to demonstrate an injury attributable to the mayor’s actions and lack

standing to pursue these claims. See Advantage Media, L.L.C. v. City of Eden Prairie,

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6

 Because of this disposition, we dismiss as moot the Coalition's motion for

summary dismissal of the appeals as to it or for voluntary dismissal to avoid damages

and double costs for frivolous appeals. The Coalition remains free to request costs in

a separate motion. See Fed. R. App. P. 38. 

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456 F.3d 793, 798-99 (8th Cir. 2006). They also seek an order directing the city to

withdraw from Board proceedings, but the city is no longer part of such proceedings

and ownership of the right of way has passed to the Coalition. Because the mandamus

order they seek could not constitute “effective relief,” Beck v. Mo. State High Sch.

Activities Ass’n, 18 F.3d 604, 605 (8th Cir. 1994), this request was properly dismissed

as moot. 

III.

For the reasons stated, we affirm the judgments of the district court.6

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