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Olivette authorizes law firm to evaluate potential inverse-condemnation claim tied to Union Pacific easement
Summary
The city council authorized the city manager to retain Lewis Rice to evaluate and, if appropriate, pursue an inverse-condemnation claim after staff said federal abandonment of a railroad easement along Price Road could create a compensable taking affecting city-owned land.
Olivette, Mo.
The Olivette City Council on June 11 authorized the city manager to enter into an engagement agreement with Lewis Rice LLC to represent the city regarding a potential inverse-condemnation claim tied to Union Pacific's easement abandonment along Price Road.
City Manager Jennifer Yackley told the council that attorney Megan Largent of Lewis Rice explained the legal background for the potential claim. "The city may have, an inverse condemnation claim with the federal government," Yackley said, summarizing counsel's advice that federal approval of a railroad easement abandonment can, in certain circumstances, be treated as a taking requiring compensation.
Yackley said the claim arises because the federal abandonment process can include a reservation that allows the federal government to resume railroad use, and the U.S. Supreme Court has treated that sequence as a compensable taking in precedent described to the council. The area at issue includes land the city owns that houses the public-works facility on either side of Price Road. Yackley added the potential claim would not block the city's parallel work with Great Rivers Greenway to place a segment of the Centennial Greenway on the corridor; the two efforts, she said, would proceed on separate tracks.
Council members moved to authorize the manager to enter the engagement letter with Lewis Rice to evaluate and pursue potential compensation; the motion passed unanimously. No financial exposure, claim value, or litigation timetable was discussed during the meeting.
Next steps outlined by staff included finalizing the engagement letter and authorizing Lewis Rice to assess records, coordinate with Union Pacific if necessary and determine whether formal federal filing or other legal steps are warranted.
