United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ______________________
MARK R. RASMUSON, BRENDA S. RASMUSON, IVA MILLER, MARTIN MEIER, DAVID A. JUST, CAROLYN J. JUST, DELTON DIXON, PLEASANT VALLEY GOLF CLUB, INC., ROBERT AASTRUP, DONALD TAYLOR, BETTY TAYLOR, DOROTHY M. JOHNSON, REX ENGEBRETSON, JURGENS FARMS CORP., DEAN JURGENS, SCHUMACHER FARMS, INC., THOMAS FLOY, RICHARD STILLE, CURTIS STILLE, PAMELA STILLE, Plaintiffs-Appellees
v.
UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellant ______________________
2014-5089 ______________________
Appeal from the United States Court of Federal Claims in No. 1:09-CV-00158-NBF, Senior Judge Nancy B. Firestone.
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WILMA N. ADKINS, HOWARD BURROWS, GONNER FARM, LLC, JAN ROSE FARM, INC., JAMES A. HARP, CLAYTON LINDSTROM AND GAYLE LINDSTROM, HUSBAND AND WIFE, BOYCE L. LANGE, TRUSTEE, FRANK MARTIN, 2 RASMUSON V. US
DAVID CHONGO AND CHRISTINE CHONGO, HUSBAND AND WIFE, RONALD PINYAN, TODD MAURICE JOHNSON, CURTIS MENNENGA, TRUSTEE, HOPE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE, RODNEY KNOX AND PAMELA KNOX, HUSBAND AND WIFE, RONALD GAULKE AND KAREN GAULKE, HUSBAND AND WIFE, SHARON BURT, THOMAS BLAKE, MERRILL GOERING AND LINDA GOERING, HUSBAND AND WIFE, JAMES A. BRADY AND PATRICIA A. BRADY, HUSBAND AND WIFE, DAVID F. JOHNSON, MELLISSA S. CHAPPELLE, DALE BARRETT AND KATHLEEN BARRETT, HUSBAND AND WIFE, RONNIE L. SMITH AND DEBORAH A. SMITH, HUSBAND AND WIFE, DAVID E. BROONER AND CYNTHIA L. BROONER, HUSBAND AND WIFE, DOUG SCHMELING, JOHN T. CURPHEY, FOR THEMSELVES AND AS REPRESENTATIVES OF A CLASS OF SIMILAR PERSONS, Plaintiffs-Appellees
v.
UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellant ______________________
2014-5092 ______________________
Appeal from the United States Court of Federal Claims in No. 1:09-CV-00503-NBF, Senior Judge Nancy B. Firestone.
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STEVE JENKINS, DONALD BURG, Plaintiffs-Appellees
v.
UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellant ______________________
2014-5107 ______________________
Appeal from the United States Court of Federal Claims in No. 1:09-CV-00241-NBF, Senior Judge Nancy B. Firestone. ______________________
Decided: October 5, 2015 ______________________
THOMAS SCOTT STEWART, Stewart Wald & McCulley, LLC, Kansas City, MO, argued for plaintiffs-appellees.
MATTHEW LITTLETON, Environment and Natural Re- sources Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, argued for defendant-appellant. Also represented by KATHERINE J. BARTON, SAM HIRSCH. ______________________
Before O'MALLEY, CLEVENGER, and HUGHES, Circuit Judges. HUGHES, Circuit Judge. In these Rails-to-Trails cases, the Court of Federal Claims found that the plaintiff-landowners were entitled to just compensation for the inverse condemnation of their respective properties. In awarding compensation to the landowners, the Court of Federal Claims determined that 4 RASMUSON V. US
an appraiser is not required to take into account the physical remnants of a railroad easement when determin- ing the value of the land before the taking occurred. Because we conclude that an appraiser must consider the value of a landowner's property before the easement, which in this case includes the physical remnants of the railroad, we vacate and remand. I The plaintiffs own tracts of land adjacent to three railway corridors in central Iowa. Pursuant to the Na- tional Trail System Act Amendments of 1982, the Surface Transportation Board issued Notices of Interim Trail Use (NITUs) for the corridors. NITUs "preserve established railroad rights-of-way for future reactivation of rail ser- vice" and