The federal government is being sued by dozens of plaintiffs from North and South Carolina for unpaid compensation for the property taken along the Saluda Grade rail track.
About 150 consumers have sought the assistance of Lewis Rice, a St. Louis-based law practice, in order to receive just compensation for that taking.
These properties are located along the Saluda Grade, a 31.5-mile railroad track between Inman, South Carolina, and Zirconia, North Carolina, which was made feasible by a centuries-old easement.
“The train would stop here and theyād give free wine to the passengers on the train and so we became the āFriendliest Town of the South’,” said Jim Fatland, the town manager for the town of Tryon.
According to Fatland, the Saluda Grade was developed in the 19th century as a component of a broader national route. Norfolk Southern, the current owner of the corridor, stopped using it along the Saluda Grade in 2001, leaving it unusable for over 20 years.
“Until recently, [Norfolk Southern] actually decided to abandon it, go through the procedures and negotiate a sales price,” Fatland stated.
A Hendersonville-based non-profit land trust called Conserving Carolina declared in August that it and two other non-profits intended to buy Norfolk Southern’s Saluda Grade rail track in order to convert the defunct line into a walking trail.
“So, it wasnāt until the railroad sought approval to abandon its line and the trail sponsors, the Saluda Grade Rail Trail Conservancy, requested the federal governmentās authority to convert this line,” Lindsay Brinton, a lawyer with Lewis Rice stated. “That, then the federal government issued its order authorizing the conversion ā at the same time taking these landownersā state law, property rights- [that we] filed the case.”
According to Brinton, the sale of the rail line activated the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, compelling the impacted property owners to sue the Federal Government in an inverse condemnation action for damages.
Individual South Carolina property owners and entire North Carolina communities are among Lewis Rice’s clients.
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Fatland claimed that when Hurricane Helene devastated Tyron last fall, he persuaded the town council to join the lawsuit because he thought the community would profit from any extra money that could be available.
Furthermore, Fatland stated that he was in favor of the Saluda Grade Rail Project.
“If we get some compensation off of it, itās money thatās going to come in to the town coffers,” Fatland stated.
Additionally, any funds obtained from the lawsuit would be used to build public restrooms and other facilities in downtown Tryon.
Tryon is the owner of four land parcels along the train line. The rails-to-trails initiative is not entirely supported by all of the property owners along the train line.
Gregory Clay is also seeking damages from the federal government. In Campobello, his land is located.
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Because of the surrounding natural landscaping, Clay stated that he intended to construct his future retirement home on the property. Due to the trail project, he is now hesitant about it.
He claimed to have gone to a community gathering that the project’s sponsors threw last autumn. He left with unsatisfactory answers about trail management.
“The issue with me is the safety and security, the cleanliness of the land behind me,” Clay stated. “I donāt want it to detract from what I have here.”
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