ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES, January 18, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Stewart, Wald & Smith, a Missouri firm specializing in Rails-to-Trails litigation nationwide, has recovered over $1.2 Million from the federal government on behalf of three landowners along 2.3-miles of abandoned railroad line in Cobb County, Georgia, known as the Silver Comet Trail.

The landowners owned land along the 2.3-mile stretch spanning from the East-West Connector east to near Plant Atkinson Road in Smyrna, Georgia. Stewart, Wald & Smith achieved a settlement in the primary case for two landowners, filed against the United States in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in 2019, captioned Action Capital Properties, LLLP, et al., v. U.S., Case No. 19-1784. Following that success, the firm filed a subsequent suit, Point Vinings, LLC, et al., v. United States, Case No. 20-1714 in the same court. The landowners in the subsequent suit were awarded compensation from the federal government at the end of 2023. The suits against the federal government are for compensation for the railroad right-of-way land that should have reverted to their ownership. In both cases, the compensation was based on the amount of land taken, and the fair market value of that land within the railroad corridor.

The line was most recently owned and operated by CSX Transportation, Inc. On October 15, 2018, the railroad filed a notice with the Surface Transportation Board to abandon its line. On November 5, 2019, a Notice of Interim Trail Use (“NITU”) was published by the United States Surface Transportation Board under the National Trails System Act (“Trails Act”). The Trails Act permits the conversion of abandoned railroad corridors into nature and hiking trails, which simultaneously preserves the right of way for possible future railroad use, a federal process known as railbanking. The process prevents the land burdened by the railroad easement from reverting to the adjoining landowners, thereby blocking the rights of the landowners to regain their property from within the corridor.

About Stewart, Wald & Smith: Stewart, Wald & Smith is a leading law firm in rails-to-trails litigation. The firm ensures the rights of landowners are protected in the complex taking of land in rail-trail conversions across the country. For more information, visit www.swslegal.com.

Jackie Tebbe
Stewart Wald and Smith, LLC
+1 314-720-0220
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