News & Press Releases

Stewart, Wald & Smith, a Missouri firm focusing on Rails-to-Trails litigation, recovered over $7.6 Million from the federal government on behalf of 168 landowners along 20.87-miles of abandoned railroad line in Marion County and Hamilton County, Indiana, known as the Nickel Plate Trail.

The landowners who owned land along the 20.87-mile stretch of the Norfolk and Western abandoned railway spanning from just south of East 16th Street in Indianapolis to just west of the White River in Noblesville, Indiana have finally received compensation from the federal government after more than 5 years of litigation in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Additionally, 175 other landowners continue to pursue similar claims against the federal government in multiple cases brought by Stewart, Wald & Smith on their behalf.

Montclair, New Jersey - Stewart, Wald & Smith, a Missouri law firm solely focused on Rails-to-Trails litigation has recovered $2,479,886.72 from the federal government on behalf of several landowners due to the conversion of the defunct Norfolk Southern Railway Company railroad to a portion of the Essex-Hudson Greenway trail located in Montclair and Bloomfield New Jersey.

The landowners involved in the litigation owned land along an 8.6-mile stretch of former rail line from milepost 2.9, in the City of Jersey City, NJ to milepost 11.5, in the Township of Montclair.

More than 170 landowners along a dormant rail line that runs from the Beacon waterfront to the Connecticut border have asked a federal court to be compensated after a federal agency designated the corridor to be trail-ready.

The plaintiffs, represented by a St. Louis firm that handles “rails-to-trails” cases, filed two lawsuits this month against the U.S. government in the Court of Federal Claims. The first was dated Feb. 9, the day after Metro-North, which owns the line, received approval from the government to abandon it.

On Feb. 8, the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) issued a “notice of interim trail use” that allows Metro-North to close the 41-mile segment. The decision also let the agency “rail bank” the line so it can be reactivated if needed.

HUDSON VALLEY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, February 12, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Stewart, Wald & Smith ("SWS"), the nation’s leading and only fully dedicated Rails-to-Trails law firm, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of landowners in Dutchess & Putnam Counties, New York against the federal government. This suit was filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims because of the extension of the Empire State Trail rail-trail conversion. The federal lawsuit captioned: Patrick Snee, et. al. v. United States, Case No. 24-00199, was filed on February 9, 2024.

The landowners named in the suit own land adjacent to a 41.1-mile stretch of abandoned railroad in Dutchess and Putnam Counties, New York. For some time now, government entities from Dutchess and Putnam Counties along with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority ("MTA") and the State of New York have been devising a plan to turn the inactive Metro-North railway from Beacon to the border of New York and Connecticut into a hiking trail or linear park. On February 8, 2024, the United States Transportation Board (“STB”) gave its approval to convert the abandoned rail line to a recreational trail. This trail will run along the abandoned railroad, starting at the Beacon waterfront and heading east. It will go through Beacon, Fishkill, Hopewell Junction, Stormville, and into Putnam County. This would connect with the Dutchess Rail Trail, and the 750-mile Empire State Trail.

Stewart, Wald & Smith, LLC, a leading Rails-to-Trails law firm that has successfully represented hundreds of landowners in cases involving the Eastrail, in addition to thousands more landowners across the country, have returned to King County, Washington to again defend landowners’ rights.

Recently, the firm filed Creekside Park Owners’ Association et al. v. United States in the United States Court of Federal Claims, Case No. 23-00772 on behalf of landowners in Woodinville, Washington, related to a northward extension of the existing Eastrail. The firm previously and successfully brought multiple cases in the United States Court of Federal Claims that involved the Eastrail— Haggart. v. U.S. (Case No. 09-103L), Smith v. U.S. (Case No. 14-387L), and Access Golf, LLC. v. U.S. (Case No. 12-248L) —which collectively recovered more than $200 million in money damages from the federal government for the taking of landowners’ property within the former railroad corridor.

Stewart, Wald & Smith, a Missouri firm focusing on Rails-to-Trails litigation nationwide, has recovered over $1.2 Million from the federal government on behalf of three landowners along 2.3-miles of abandoned railroad line in Cobb County, Georgia, known as the Silver Comet Trail.

The landowners owned land along the 2.3-mile stretch spanning from the East-West Connector east to near Plant Atkinson Road in Smyrna, Georgia. Stewart, Wald & Smith achieved a settlement in the primary case for two landowners, filed against the United States in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in 2019, captioned Action Capital Properties, LLLP, et al., v. U.S., Case No. 19-1784. Following that success, the firm filed a subsequent suit, Point Vinings, LLC, et al., v. United States, Case No. 20-1714 in the same court. The landowners in the subsequent suit were awarded compensation from the federal government at the end of 2023. The suits against the federal government are for compensation for the railroad right-of-way land that should have reverted to their ownership. In both cases, the compensation was based on the amount of land taken, and the fair market value of that land within the railroad corridor.

Stewart, Wald & Smith, LLC, a leading rails-to-trails law firm, announced a significant legal triumph for landowners in Peoria County, Illinois. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled in favor of 116 landowners, overturning the trial court’s decision in Barlow, et. al. v. United States, Case No. 1:13-cv-00396. The United States Court of Appeals opinion was issued on November 22, 2023, Case No. 22-1381.

The appeal originated from a rails-to-trails conversion known as the proposed Hanna City Trail. In 2013, landowners along the abandoned railroad corridor sued the federal government in the United States Court of Federal Claims, seeking compensation for a taking of land arising from the implementation of the National Trails System Act (“Trails Act”).

Stewart, Wald & Smith, a leading law firm that focuses on property rights of landowners specific to rail-trail conversions, is pleased to announce another victory on behalf of landowners in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm has been representing landowners who own property adjacent to the Atlanta BeltLine since 2017.

The conversion of abandoned railroad corridors for the Atlanta BeltLine trail raises important legal questions for adjacent landowners regarding property rights and compensation. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Landowners along the Atlanta BeltLine route had their properties impacted by the construction and conversion efforts, in addition to long-term impacts of having a trail along their property instead of gaining possession of the corridor land.

When the New York Central Railroad began to build its railway through the northwest Bronx in the 1870s, it did so by receiving an easement to use the property to carry its trains.

CSX Transportation, the latest owner of the railway, sold the property to the City of New York for $11.2 million. At that time, the easement remained. An easement is a legal right to use someone else’s land for a particular public use, according to New York law.

But as part of the long-proposed Tibbetts Brook daylighting/Putnam greenway extension, the city put the wheels in motion to use the abandoned rail line for the Tibbetts project. And once the federal Surface Transportation Board greenlit the conversion of the rail line into a recreational trail, for all intents and purposes the easement went away.

That has allowed landowners such as the 233rd Partnership L.P. to seek what they call “just compensation” for that property since they own the original rights.

Stewart, Wald & Smith, a Missouri firm exclusively practicing Rails-to-Trails litigation nationwide, recovered $118,715.52 from the federal government on behalf of two landowners along 1.57-miles of abandoned railroad line in Bennington County, Vermont, known as the Bennington Path Rail Trail.

Landowners who owned land along the 1.57-mile stretch of abandoned railway spanning from River Street north to the bridge over Furnace Brook in the Town of Bennington, Vermont, recovered money earlier this year in lawsuits filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, M & L Rogers, LLC v. United States, Case No. 22-411, and Montcalm Point Associates, Inc., v. United States, Case No. 22-1760. The railway was most recently owned and operated by Vermont Railway, Inc. On July 5, 2018, Vermont Railway, Inc. filed a notice with the Surface Transportation Board that it wished to abandon the railway.

Stewart Wald & Smith, LLC (“SWS”), the nation’s leading and only fully dedicated Rails-to-Trails litigation law firm, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a landowner in Bronx County, New York against the federal government. The suit was filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims as a result of the rail-trail conversion. The federal lawsuit is captioned: 233rd Street Partnership, L.P. v. United States, Case No. 23-1358L.

233rd Street Partnership. L.P. owns land adjacent to a .77-mile stretch of abandoned railway in Bronx, New York. The New York Central Railroad began construction of the railway in the 1870’s. CSX Transportation, Inc., the latest owner of the railway, sold the corridor to the City of New York this year. On May 26, 2023, the United States Surface Transportation Board gave its approval to convert the abandoned rail line to a recreational trail. The above-referenced suit was filed on August 18, 2023.

The firm announced today that it has changed its name to Stewart, Wald & Smith, LLC. Landowners whose property is taken for recreational trails can rely on Stewart, Wald & Smith, LLC to recover money for them from the federal government. The firm has recovered more money in Rails-to-Trails litigation than any other law firm: $390 Million and counting.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley, a Missouri law firm specializing in Rails-to-Trails litigation has recovered $573,630.75 from the federal government on behalf of two landowners as a result of the Atlanta Beltline conversion in Atlanta, Georgia.

The landowners’ property is along a 4.4-mile stretch of abandoned railway from the I-75/85 underpass to Glenwood Avenue, just north of Beulah Heights University.  This portion of the abandoned railway was converted to create the Southside Trail segment of the Atlanta Beltline. The Atlanta Beltline is a 22-mile recreational trail loop that connects neighborhoods around the City of Atlanta.

TILLAMOOK, OREGON, UNITED STATES, July 10, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Stewart, Wald & McCulley, a Missouri law firm specializing in Rails-to-Trails litigation, has recovered $2,623,894.00 resulting from a settlement with the federal government on behalf of landowners in Tillamook and Washington Counties, Oregon. The federal lawsuit is titled: Loveridge, et. al. v. United States, Case No. 17-cv-912L, filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley, a Missouri law firm specializing in Rails-to-Trails litigation has recovered over $328,000 from the federal government on behalf of landowners as a result of the Cloverleaf Rail Trail conversion in Kokomo, Indiana. This is Stewart, Wald & McCulley’s second success for landowners in the area.

The landowners in these cases own(ed) land along a 2.38-mile stretch from milepost 181.26, at the west right-of-way line of Webster Street to milepost 183.64, at the south right-of-way line of Defenbaugh Street.

A Missouri law firm says it represents nearly 200 landowners who are planning to sue the federal government once Metro-North gets the OK to convert the dormant Beacon railroad line into a rail trail.

Metro-North, which purchased the line in 1995, plans to close a 41-mile segment from Beacon to the Connecticut border. In Beacon, it begins near the train station, loops past Dennings Point and Madam Brett Park, and runs parallel with the east end of Main Street before heading toward Hopewell Junction.

BEACON – The Metro-North Railroad is planning to abandon its Beacon Line that runs from Beacon to Fishkill, Hopewell Junction, Stormville, and Putnam County and integrate it into the Dutchess Rail Trail and the 750-mile Empire State Trail.

The original land for the track was in the form of an easement by the property owners and conversion to a rail trail, or linear park, would retain that right-of-way.

That’s where lawyer Steven Wald comes in to seek benefits for the landowners.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley ("SWM"), a leading Rails-to-Trails law firm that successfully represented landowners in Albany, New York, along the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail, and that is currently representing landowners regarding another rail-trail conversion in Niagara County, New York in the towns of Newfane and Lockport, are now preparing to file suit for nearly 200 landowners in the United States Court of Federal Claims along the planned Empire State Trail extension / Beacon Line in the Hudson Valley.

For some time now, government entities from Dutchess and Putnam Counties along with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority ("MTA") have been devising a plan to turn the inactive Metro-North railway from Beacon to the border of New York and Connecticut into a hiking trail or linear park.

This trail will run along the abandoned railroad, starting at the Beacon waterfront and heading east. It will go through Beacon, Fishkill, Hopewell Junction, Stormville, and into Putnam County. This would connect with the Dutchess Rail Trail, and the 750-mile Empire State Trail.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley, LLC, a leading Rails to Trails law firm, has reached out to landowners whose property rights may be affected by the conversion of the Seminole Gulf Railway into a nature and hiking trail.  The firm solely represents landowners who have had their land taken as a result of rail-trail conversions. The firm has represented landowners in over 26 states and touts their track record of recovering over $380 Million in rail-trail cases nationwide. Attorney Steven M. Wald, native to Naples, Florida, is taking the lead on the case and has been watching the developments of the future Bonita Estero Rail Trail closely.    

SOUTHAMPTON — A few Southampton landowners are asserting that they are due “just compensation” from the federal government, claiming that their land has been seized for the Greenway rail trail project currently in the design phase.

As part of a lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Dec. 19 by Kansas City, Missouri-based law firm Stewart, Wald and McCulley, the landowners allege that the conversion of an abandoned rail line to a recreational trail prevents them from taking back possession of the land, according to attorney Michael Smith.

Stewart Wald & McCulley (“SWM”), the nation’s leading and only fully dedicated Rails-to-Trails litigation law firm, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of landowners in Hampshire County, Massachusetts against the federal government. The suit was filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims as a result of the rail-trail conversion. The firm will be adding more landowners to the lawsuit in the following weeks. SWM currently represents numerous landowners in Southampton, and their federal lawsuit is captioned: Kristen Biancuzzo, et al., v. United States, Case No. 22-1857L.

In Biancuzzo, landowners own land adjacent to a 4.25-mile stretch of abandoned railway in Southampton, Massachusetts. The Hampden and Hampshire Railroad Company began construction of the rail line in the 1850’s. The Pioneer Valley Railroad Co., the latest owner of the railway, sold the corridor to the town of Southampton last month. On December 16, 2022, the United States Surface Transportation Board gave its approval to convert the abandoned rail line to a recreational trail. The above-referenced suit was filed on December 19, 2022.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley, a Missouri firm specializing in Rails-to-Trails litigation nationwide, recovered nearly $1.3 Million from the federal government on behalf of 16 landowners along 1.57-miles of abandoned railroad line in Bennington County, Vermont, known as the Bennington Path Rail Trail.

A lawsuit recently filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims alleges that landowners along the Great Redwood Trail were not properly compensated when “the federal government took private property from the owners of land along the 175-mile-long (trail) through Mendocino, Humboldt, and Trinity Counties.”

Stewart Wald & McCulley (“SWM”), the nation’s leading and only fully dedicated Rails-to-Trails litigation law firm, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of landowners in Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino Counties against the federal government. The suit was filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims as a result of the rail-trail conversion. The firm will be adding more landowners to the lawsuit in the coming weeks. SWM currently represents 88 landowners who collectively own 168 parcels of land, and their federal lawsuit is captioned: Ross Bewley, et al., v. United States, Case No. 1:22-cv-01589L.

SWM has pursued this action against the Federal Government for several years. Between 2019 and early 2020, following the issues presented by State Senator Mike McGuire and his plan to convert over 300 miles of abandoned railroad corridor to a public recreational trail, known as the Great Redwood Trail, SWM began investigating this railbanking plan and action as a potential lawsuit against United States government.

The Rails-to-Trails law firm, Stewart, Wald & McCulley, which already represents landowners in the Rock Island Rail-Trail case involving land west of Beaufort, Missouri is now pursuing a case for the future rail-trail east of Beaufort. The Rock Island Trail extension is planned to proceed from Beaufort east for another 9.71 miles to Union, Missouri.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley, a leading Rails-to-Trails law firm, which successfully represented landowners in cases involving the Laurel Creek Trail and the Atlantic and Yadkin Greenway, are back in the Carolinas.

The firm, touting successes in Greenville, South Carolina and Guilford, North Carolina, for rail-trail conversion cases, are now representing landowners arising out of the Saluda Grade Rail Trail conversion. The previous cases involved the Laurel Creek Trail and the Atlantic and Yadkin Greenway, filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. These cases were called 112 Haywood Rd. v. U.S., Case #15-1036, Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands SC v. U.S., Case #18-1248, Fuller v. U.S., Case #21-1366, Takes v. U.S., Case #21-1365, and Fray v. U.S., Case #19-1636 all of which recovered compensation from the federal government.

In the Saluda Grade Trail case, landowners own land located along the 31-mile Saluda Grade railroad corridor from Inman, South Carolina (north of Spartanburg) and continuing through Campobello, Landrum, Tryon, and Saluda, before entering North Carolina and reaching Zirconia (south of Hendersonville). This trail would span 16 miles in South Carolina and 15 miles in North Carolina.

MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , September 1, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Stewart, Wald & McCulley, LLC, the nation’s leading and only fully dedicated Rails-to-Trails litigation law firm, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Muskegon landowners against the federal government. The suit was filed in the United States Court of Federal Claims as a result of the rail-trail conversion in Muskegon, Michigan. The firm will be adding more landowners next week, for a total of 14 landowners thus far represented in the lawsuit, Lakeshore Harbour Townhouses Condominium, et al., v. United States, Case No. 22-902L.

The landowners own land located adjacent to a 2-mile stretch of abandoned railway along Muskegon Lake. The rail line extends near Lakeshore Drive from Rotary Park to the proposed Windward Point development site. The rail line was constructed in the late 1860’s and early 1870’s by the Chicago and Michigan Lakeshore Railroad. The Muskegon City Commission has approved the purchase of the abandoned rail line to construct the Lakeshore Trail.

MUSKEGON—Stewart, Wald & McCulley, LLC, a leading Rails to Trails law firm is reaching out to landowners whose property rights may be affected by the conversion of a 2-mile stretch of railroad line in Muskegon into the Lakeshore Trail. The law firm has been retained by several landowners, and the firm expects to file a lawsuit on the landowners’ behalf once the conversion is approved by the federal government. Stewart, Wald & McCulley will be seeking monetary compensation for their clients for the taking of land in a case against the federal government. The lawsuit is not against any local entities building the trail and will not stop or hinder trail progress.

A Missouri-based law firm that specializes in rails-to-trails litigation is representing more than 100 landowners whose property rights will impacted by the proposed Shenandoah Rail Trail.

Stewart, Wald and McCulley said in a statement that it expects to file a lawsuit on the landowners’ behalf when the federal government approves the conversion of a 48.5-mile stretch of railroad line from Broadway to Front Royal for the Shenandoah Rail Trail.

A Missouri-based litigation law firm specializing in rails-to-trails litigation won $142,600 from the federal government for two landowners in Yelm who lost land as a result of the Yelm-Rainier-Tenino Trail extension in the city.

The law firm — Stewart, Wald & McCulley — is one of only a few firms that specialize in rails-to-trails litigation in the country, according to a news release from the firm.

The landowners who received the settlement own land along a 4.57-mile stretch of the abandoned railway spanning from Yelm to Roy, part of the Yelm Prairie Line extension of the Yelm-Rainier-Tenino Trail.

The entire litigation references the time in the late 1860s when The Northern Pacific Railway Company was granted a railroad easement to establish rail service in Yelm and Roy. Most recently operated by the city of Yelm, the line was abandoned by the city in May 2020 to make way for the trail extension.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley, a Missouri law firm specializing in Rails-to-Trails litigation has recovered $4.5 Million from the federal government on behalf of twenty-one landowners as a result of the Atlanta BeltLine conversion in Atlanta, Georgia.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley, a Missouri litigation law firm specializing in Rails-to-Trails litigation, has recovered $142,600 from the federal government on behalf of 2 landowners as a result of the Yelm-Tenino Trail conversion in the City of Yelm, Thurston County, Washington.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley, the nation’s leading and only fully dedicated Rails-to-Trails litigation law firm, has recovered $355,000 on behalf of 7 landowners from the federal government, in the United States Court of Federal Claims, as a result of the Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway rail-trail conversion in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley, in a unique case, recently achieved a $327,000.00 settlement on behalf of clients who owned approximately 50 parcels of land in rural Decatur, Norton, and Phillips Counties, Kansas. 

Not only did their clients receive compensation for temporary taking claims, they also received their land back.  Stewart, Wald & McCulley originally filed the lawsuit against the United States Government in October 2015 following the Notice of Interim Trail Use (NITU) filed on October 22, 2015. The request for trail use was filed shortly thereafter.

SANTA ROSA (BCN) — In a federal lawsuit filed last week in San Francisco, dozens of landowners from Sonoma and Marin counties accused Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit of a land grab.

At issue is the “multi-use pathway” that SMART is building on a 43-mile stretch between Airport Boulevard in Sonoma County and San Rafael in Marin County. According to a progress report on its website, SMART has completed 24 miles of pathway and another 8.8 miles are “fully funded and planned for construction.”

NORTH BAY, CA — In a federal lawsuit filed last week in San Francisco, dozens of landowners from Sonoma and Marin counties accused Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit of a land grab.

At issue is the "multi-use pathway" that SMART is building on a 43-mile stretch between Airport Boulevard in Sonoma County and San Rafael in Marin County. According to a progress report on its website, SMART has completed 24 miles of pathway and another 8.8 miles are "fully funded and planned for construction."

Landowners seek just compensation from the federal government under the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution for the taking of their property; lawsuit does not attempt to stop the rail-to-trail conversion

A Missouri-based law firm that specializes in rails-to-trails cases plans to file a federal lawsuit on behalf of property owners along the Nickel Plate Railroad corridor.

In July, officials who control the 37-mile railroad corridor voted to move forward with a plan that will likely put an end to future train traffic from Indianapolis to Hamilton County.

The decision paved the way for Fishers and Noblesville to convert a 9.2-mile stretch of the railroad into a multi-use pathway. The proposed $9 million Nickel Plate Trail would run from 96th Street in Fishers to Pleasant Street in Noblesville.

But before that portion of the railroad can be ripped up for the pedestrian and bicycle path, officials need to receive rail banking approval from the federal Surface Transportation Board—a step that is now being pursued.

If the federal board signs off on the request, which essentially protects the right-of-way for future transportation uses, then legal action will likely soon follow.

ST. LOUIS, MO. (June 16, 2017) – Stewart, Wald & McCulley, the nation’s leading rails-to-trails litigation firm, has achieved a $14.2 million settlement for 272 landowners affected by the Albany County Rail Trail, the firm announced today.

The Albany County Rail Trail is a public recreational trail located on a nine-mile stretch of the defunct Delaware & Hudson Railroad Co. in Albany County, New York. It links the Port of Albany and Voorheesville.

Washington, D.C. – On Aug. 1, Stewart Wald & McCulley LLC, a Kansas City, Missouri legal firm claiming to have settled “nearly all the largest rails-to-trails cases to date” filed a lawsuit against the United States government on behalf of more than 50 plaintiffs who own property along the planned Salmonberry Trail route between Banks and Tillamook.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley recovered $2.6 million for 184 landowners in Pulaski County, Arkansas, the firm announced today.

The plaintiffs own land located along a four-mile stretch of the Levy Trail, a recreational path in North Little Rock. In 1917 and 1919, the right of way had been granted on this property to the Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. The rail line was eventually transferred to the Union Pacific Railroad Co., which operated the corridor before abandoning the track.

In 2010, the City of North Little Rock requested to use the defunct railroad track for a bicycle and pedestrian trail. The Surface Transportation Board approved the project – which would become the Levy Trail – later that year under the National Trails System Act.

Stewart, Wald & McCulley, the nation’s leading rails-to-trails law firm, today announced a $5.5 million settlement for 79 landowners affected by the Shelby Farms Greenline trail in Shelby County, Tennessee.

The lawsuit, Thomas, et al v. United States, concerned a seven-mile stretch of land that once was part of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, later a CSX Transportation Inc. railroad line. After the railroad line was abandoned, the federal Surface Transportation Board approved converting it into a recreational trail subject to the National Trails System Act.

"Three of Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice's top revenue-makers have left and formed their own firm in Kansas City, according to court documents. A document filed Tuesday in relation to a rails-to-trails case stated that Thomas S. Stewart and Elizabeth McCulley, who represent the plaintiffs in the case, "are no longer associated with Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice" and have formed a new law firm, Stewart Wald & McCulley. Steven Wald, another former Baker Sterchi attorney based in St. Louis, is listed as the registered agent on the Missouri Secretary of State's website. The three attorneys have worked on rails-to-trails cases for the firm, including one that settled for $33 million in 2013 and included a nearly $11 million contingency fee, and another case that settled for $141 million. "The firm will continue to have its own trails practice group going forward," Kreamer said. "We wish them well, I think they probably wish us well as well."

-Catherine Martin, April 15, 2015 (Missouri Lawyers Weekly)

A team of rails to trails attorneys recovered $3.1 million for 37 landowners in Yolo County, California.

The plaintiffs owned 41 parcels of land located along a 9.2-mile stretch of the Clarksburg Branch Line Trail in West Sacramento. The land had been subject to an easement for the Sierra Northern Railway, which operated the Yolo Short Line Railroad. Years after the railroad abandoned the track, the path was converted to a trail under the National Trails Systems Act.