United States Seventh Circuit

In a challenge by landowners to a county's efforts to convert unused railway lines into snowmobile trails, summary judgment and a quiet title finding in favor of plaintiffs are vacated where the U.S.'s Disclaimer of Interest in the property did not serve to extinguish any interest the County holds in the railway line under 43 U.S.C. section 912 and 16 U.S.C. section 1248(c), assuming that the U.S. originally retained a reversionary interest in the right-of-way and that formal abandonment, according to the terms in section 912, had not yet occurred. The matter is remanded for determination of these open questions.

Appellate Information

• Argued 11/08/2007
• Decided 04/02/2008
• Published 04/02/2008

Judges

• FLAUM, Circuit Judge., Before EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge, and FLAUM and KANNE, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Andrea C. Ferster, Washington, DC, Rails to Trail Conservancy, Amicus Curiae., Debra P. Conrad, Wisconsin Realtors Ass'n, Madison, WI, Wisconsin Realtors Ass'n, Amicus Curiae., J. Bushnell Nielson, Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, Waukesha, WI, Wisconsin Land Title Ass'n, Amicus Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Carl A. Sinderbrand, Axley Brynelson, Madison, WI, Cecilia Fex (argued), Ackerson Kauffman Fex, Washington, DC, William T. Stuart, Meissner, Tierney, Fisher & Nichols, Milwaukee, WI, for Plaintiffs-Appellees., Richard K. Nordeng (argued), Stafford Rosenbaum, Steven Pray O'Connor, Office of the United States Attorney, Madison, WI, for Defendant-Appellant.