Ellamae Phillips Company v. United States

Takings; Rails-to-Trails; Abandonment of Easement; Calculation of Damages.

OPINION

BRUGGINK, Judge.

This rails-to-trails takings case arises out of the conversion, by operation of federal law, of a railway easement on plaintiffs property in Aspen, Colorado to a trail for public use. We have already established that creation of the trail exceeded the seope of the easement. The Ellamae Phillips Co. v. United States, 99 Fed.Cl. 483, 487 (2011). What remains is resolution of a disagreement between the parties as to how to value the property before and after imposition of the new easement.…