Content area
Full Text
When the city of Indianapolis in 1989 paid just $480,000 to CSX Transportation Inc. for 85 acres of the future Monon Trail, it got quite a deal.
But it might have gotten more than it bargained for.
The popular trail is part of hundreds of miles of abandoned rail lines throughout the state that railroads sold or tried to sell after they pulled up tracks. But in some cases, the railroads might have never owned that land in the first place.
Five railroads, including CSX, have been targeted in three statewide class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of thousands of property owners staking a claim to abandoned rail corridors. AT&T has been sued for laying fiber-optic cables in corridors.
The city of Indianapolis could be next.
Attorneys representing plaintiffs in the suit against CSX say some people who live along the Monon in Indianapolis might have grounds for legal action against the city.
Slander of title, criminal trespassing and criminal conversion are among the possible wrongs committed by the city since its 1989 transaction with CSX, said Indianapolis attorney Gregg Gordon, who represents plaintiffs in the CSX action.
"The damages that could come out of this could potentially far exceed the original price that could have been paid," Gordon said.
Trail not in jeopardy
But the thousands who use the Monon Trail shouldn't be affected by the legal wrangling. Even if adjoining landowners sued the city and won, Indianapolis still could condemn the property for public use.
"[Such] litigation would not stop the city from doing whatever it would do...