DM&E intimidates landowners
Railroad filing beats change in law
By DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER
Casper (Wyoming) Star-Tribune energy reporter Friday, July 06, 2007
A railroad's lawsuit seeking condemnation of some 1,200 linear acres in northeast Wyoming was filed on June 28, just days before changes to Wyoming's eminent domain laws went into effect on July 1.
Officials of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad declined to comment this week on their lawsuit. But Gillette attorney Tad Daly, who represents about 15 of the landowner defendants, said there's no coincidence in the timing.
"It's unfortunate DM&E felt it necessary to sue landowners in federal court prior to meeting with them. We attempted to schedule a meeting with them," Daly said. "Clearly, and they articulated this, the reason they sued (before July 1) is so they could proceed under old condemnation statutes."
By DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER
Casper (Wyoming) Star-Tribune energy reporter Friday, July 06, 2007
A railroad's lawsuit seeking condemnation of some 1,200 linear acres in northeast Wyoming was filed on June 28, just days before changes to Wyoming's eminent domain laws went into effect on July 1.
Officials of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad declined to comment this week on their lawsuit. But Gillette attorney Tad Daly, who represents about 15 of the landowner defendants, said there's no coincidence in the timing.
"It's unfortunate DM&E felt it necessary to sue landowners in federal court prior to meeting with them. We attempted to schedule a meeting with them," Daly said. "Clearly, and they articulated this, the reason they sued (before July 1) is so they could proceed under old condemnation statutes."
[...]
One defendant, Dan Tracy, operates a ranch in the Rochelle Hills in southern Campbell County. He said DM&E's offer was more of an ultimatum than a negotiation.
"They would tell us in negotiations, 'We will give you so much, you sign by certain date, if not we will file against you.' There's no negotiation in that," Tracy said. "That was every communication, verbal or written. They try to intimidate you."
(More here.)
"They would tell us in negotiations, 'We will give you so much, you sign by certain date, if not we will file against you.' There's no negotiation in that," Tracy said. "That was every communication, verbal or written. They try to intimidate you."
(More here.)
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1 Comments:
My, oh my, how the Railroads have changed.
DM&E wants to be Lord and Master of the citizen’s domain.
I was just thumbing through a 1946 copy of Successful Farming and ran across a Railroad ad which promotes the railroad as good, responsible corporate citizens.
The ad is titled : A Million Children
And reads :
The school taxes paid by railroads enable more than a million children to go to school. In many rural areas they constitute half of all school funds.
And this aid to education is only one of many ways in which the public benefits by railroad taxes. For these are real taxes – general taxes on railroad-owned property which go toward support of pubic health, public safety, national defense, maintenance of the courts, and all other government activities and services.
No part of railroad taxes goes for building and upkeep of railroad tracks. The railroads do that themselves and, in addition, pay taxes on their tracks and other property, thus helping to build and maintain highways, airways, and waterways used by other forms of commercial transportation which compete with the railroads for traffic.
It is a matter of pride with the railroads that they not only pay their own way as transportation companies, but also are able to help in the education of American boys and girls each year.
[Note : emphasis added]
Then they were supporting communities, and now DM&E wants taxpayers to support them even if it means obtaining Federal Loans to buy your land.
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