- April 18, 2024
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With the proposed extension of the Legacy Trail comes something the community might not have expected: a lawsuit, from property owners seeking money from the federal government.
Washington D.C.-based Arent Fox LLP is seeking clients in its “rails-to-trails” case, who might be losing portions of their property.
In late August, the County Commission voted to approve the extension of the Legacy Trail by purchasing land in two phases, beginning with an almost 2-mile stretch between Culverhouse Park north to the intersection of Ashton Road.
Adjacent property owners along the trail technically own the land beneath the rails, said attorney Lindsay Brinton. The owners had the assumption that once the railroad was done using the land, it would be returned for their use. However, now that the trail is going in place of the railroad, the law firm claims the property owners are entitled to money from the federal government.
“I can’t stop the trail. Nobody can stop the trail,” Brinton said. “All I can do is get you money.”
Mark “Thor” Hearne, II, another Arent Fox attorney, said the money has already been set aside but land owners must file a claim.
Part of the attorneys’ job is to prove the property owners deserve the money, and how much.
“It’s a good thing for the community as a whole, but people don’t usually like it in their backyard,” Brinton said at a town hall meeting for property owners who wanted to learn more about the lawsuit. “You have a constitutional right to be paid.”
Noel Harris has owned property along the railroad since 1998, and has some concerns about a trail going up in his backyard.
“It’s a bit concerning, but we’ll see how it turns out,” he said. “It could be good and bad … plusses and minuses.”
Arent Fox has been through this before in suits across the country, including one about the south portion of the Legacy Trail. In a previous case, the firm represented about 150 properties, Hearne said, where the owners were paid roughly $25 million.
