Rutherford v. BNSF Railway Co.

KAPSNER, Justice.

[¶ 1] Gary Rutherford, d/b/a Classic Roadsters, Ltd. (“Rutherford”), appeals from a district court judgment granting BNSF Railway Company’s (“BNSF”) motion for summary judgment. We affirm.

I

[¶ 2] The property which is the subject of this case is located at 1617 Main Avenue, Fargo, North Dakota. At all times pertinent to this case, the land has been owned by BNSF, formerly known as Burlington Northern Railroad Company. In 1981, Rutherford became a sublessee to a lease in which BNSF was a lessor and Offutt Investment Company (“Offutt”) was a lessee; Offutt owned the building and…