Blog

Stewart, Wald & McCulley represents landowners whose land has been taken by the federal government for rails to trails conversions.

Steve was on location taking a look at a new potential case and thinking about what landowners often share with him when he meets them. Sometimes landowners share they are in favor of the recreational trail, and he informs them that our cases are neutral towards the trail.

Steve was also thinking about constitutional rights, and how important the right is to get compensated when the government takes your land for a public purpose, in this case, a rail-trail.

If you think about the founders of this country, one of the things they were concerned about was that the King of England could not take your land without paying you money. So even if you are in favor of a recreational trail, it does not mean that your land should be taken without paying you something for it.

So, we represent landowners and get money for them for the taking of their land.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley provides you with a brief rundown of the litigation process in a rails-to-trails case, so you know what to expect after your claim is filed.

So, you’ve decided to hire a law firm to pursue your claim for just compensation based on the taking of your land in an abandoned rail corridor for trail use. That’s excellent, but what will the litigation process actually look like? This article provides a brief rundown of the process, so you know what to expect after your claim is filed.

Maybe you heard some news in your community about that inactive railroad next to your property and the plans to turn it into a trail. Maybe you received a letter from a law firm telling you about your rights when it comes to a rail-trail conversion along your property. Or maybe you were talking to your neighbors and heard the news – the news that the quiet railroad corridor that hasn’t seen a train in decades is going to change - change that would bring the general public right along your back yar

Rail-to-trail conversions are only possible thanks to the Trails Act, an act of Congress that allows railroads to offer up their railroad rights-of-way for public recreational hiking and biking use in lieu of abandonment. But what is the National Trails System Act, otherwise known as the Trails Act, and why does it lead to just compensation for landowners?

This guide intends to provide those answers.

One of the most frequent questions in Rails-to-Trails practice is: How, and why, do these landowners own the land in the railroad corridor?  That land within the railroad corridor almost never shows up in the deed that transferred ownership of the adjacent land to the landowners, or in surveys. 

This past year, like years before, Stewart, Wald & McCulley secured millions of dollars for landowners across the country.