Rasmuson v. United States

HUGHES, Circuit Judge.

In these Rails-to-Trails cases, the Court of Federal Claims found that the plaintiff-landowners were entitled to just compensation for the inverse condemnation of their respective properties. In awarding compensation to the landowners, the Court of Federal Claims determined that an appraiser is not required to take into account the physical remnants of a railroad easement when determining the value of the land before the taking occurred. Because we conclude that an appraiser must consider the value of a landowner’s property before the easement, which in this case…