Roeder Co. v. Burlington Northern, Inc.

Facts of Case

At issue in this case is whether title to abandoned railroad rights of way in the Bellingham area should be quieted in the successor of the original grantor of the rights of way or in the owners of the property abutting the rights of way.

This case concerns two of the seven lawsuits brought by the Roeder Company to quiet title to abandoned railroad rights of way. These suits involved seven separate deeds by a common grantor, Bellingham Bay Improvement Company (the Improvement Company) to various railroads between 1890 and 1914. We granted direct review of two of the seven cases,…