State v. BNSF Railway Co.

¶1 BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) appeals from an order of the Tenth Judicial District Court, Fergus County, granting the State of Montana’s (the State) application for a preliminary injunction. We reverse and remand.

HISTORY

¶2 Before addressing the present controversy between the State and BNSF, we must first discuss the lengthy and litigious history between the State and BNSF. In the early 1980s, the State sued BNSF in state court to prevent BNSF from abandoning a section of railroad known as the Geraldine Line. The result of that suit was a 1984 Settlement Agreement (“1984Agreement”) between…