ALASKA RAILROAD CORP. V. FLYING CROWN SUBDIVISION ADDITION NO. 1 & NO. 2, No. 22-35573 (9th Cir. 2023)
Annotate this CaseThe United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC), a state-owned corporation that operates Alaska’s railroad system, in its dispute with Flying Crown Subdivision Addition No. 1 and Addition No. 2 Property Owners Association (Flying Crown). ARRC had sought to quiet title in a railroad right-of-way and to clarify that its interest in the right-of-way includes an exclusive-use easement. The court held that the Alaska Railroad Act of 1914 authorized the creation of the Alaska Railroad, a federal railroad, and reserved railroad rights-of-way to the United States. The Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 1982 authorized the federal government to transfer nearly all of the Alaska Railroad property rights to ARRC. The court concluded that the federal government intended to reserve an exclusive-use easement under the 1914 Act, which was then transferred to ARRC under the 1982 Act. Therefore, ARRC possesses at least an exclusive-use easement in its right-of-way crossing Flying Crown’s property.
Court Description: Property Law. In a case in which Chief Judge Murguia is recused and Judge Bade was drawn as a replacement judge, the panel (1) withdrew the opinion filed on September 18, 2023; (2) filed a new opinion, reflecting Judge Bade’s concurrence, affirming the district court’s summary judgment in favor of Alaska Railroad Corp. (“ARRC”) in its action seeking to quiet title in a railroad right-of-way and to clarify that ARRC’s interest in the right-of-way includes an exclusive- use easement; (3) denied a petition for panel rehearing; and (4) denied a petition for rehearing en banc.
ARRC, a state-owned corporation, owns and operates Alaska’s railroad system. It possesses a right-of-way on which it operates a section of track next to an air strip owned by Flying Crown Subdivision No. 1 and Addition No. 2 Property Owners Association. ARRC’s right-of-way includes one-hundred feet on either side of the track’s center line, some of which directly overlaps with Flying Crown’s air strip.
The panel held that the Alaska Railroad Act of 1914 authorized the creation of the Alaska Railroad, a federal railroad, and reserved railroad rights-of-way to the United States. The Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 1982 authorized the federal government to transfer nearly all of the Alaska Railroad property rights to ARRC.
In 1950, the United States issued the “Sperstad Patent” to Flying Crown’s predecessor in interest. The Alaska Railroad’s track already traversed the land, and the Sperstad Patent reserved a railroad right-of-way. The panel held that the 1914 Act did not reveal the scope of the right-of-way retained by the government. Considering common law principles, the sovereign grantor canon, and the court’s interpretation of the general right-of-way statute adopted by Congress in 1875, the panel concluded that, in the Sperstad Patent, the federal government intended to reserve an exclusive-use easement under the 1914 Act. The panel further held that the federal government transferred the exclusive-use easement it retained under the 1914 Act to ARRC under the Alaska Railroad Transfer Act of 1982.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on September 18, 2023.
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