Howard v. Surface Transportation Board

LYNCH, Circuit Judge.

These consolidated appeals present the issue of law of whether the term “abandonment” in section 1170 of the Bankruptcy Code gives the bankruptcy courts the power to adversely abandon a non-debtor railroad’s easement and trackage rights over rail lines owned by the debtor at the time of the bankruptcy. This appears to be an issue of first impression in the courts of appeals.

Section 1170, which resulted from the 1978 Bankruptcy Code Amendments, is an exception to the normal rule that only the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the successor to the earlier Interstate…