## Facts

- In 1908, the United States granted a railroad a right-of-way across federal land under the General Railroad Right-of-Way Act of 1875.
- In 1976, the United States conveyed a parcel in Fox Park, Wyoming, to the Brandt family by patent, stating the land was subject to the existing railroad right-of-way, but not addressing post-abandonment ownership of the corridor.
- A successor railroad later abandoned the right-of-way with federal approval in the early 2000s.
- The United States sued in federal district court seeking a declaration of abandonment and an order quieting title to the abandoned strip in the federal government, asserting an implied federal reversionary interest.
- The Brandt Trust argued the 1875 Act right-of-way was a railroad easement that terminated upon abandonment, leaving the underlying land unburdened in private ownership.
- The district court granted summary judgment to the United States and quieted title in the government; the Tenth Circuit affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether a railroad right-of-way granted under the General Railroad Right-of-Way Act of 1875 is an easement that terminates upon abandonment.
2. Whether the United States retains an implied reversionary interest in an 1875 Act right-of-way that reverts to the government upon abandonment, notwithstanding a later land patent conveying the underlying land subject to the right-of-way.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court reversed, holding (8–1) that 1875 Act rights-of-way are easements.
- Upon abandonment of an 1875 Act right-of-way, the easement is extinguished and the private landowner holds title free of the burden.
- The Court rejected the government’s claim that it retained an implied reversionary interest in the corridor crossing the Brandt property.
- The majority opinion (Roberts, C.J.) relied on Great N. Ry. Co. v. United States in treating the 1875 Act as granting only easements, not fee or fee-like interests with reversion.
- Justice Sotomayor dissented, warning about disruption to expectations concerning former railroad corridors and subsequent public uses.

## Legal Principles

- Rights-of-way granted under the General Railroad Right-of-Way Act of 1875 convey easements for railroad purposes, not limited fees or fee ownership.
- When an easement created under the 1875 Act is abandoned by the railroad, it terminates, and the servient estate is no longer burdened by the right-of-way.
- A federal land patent conveying property “subject to” an 1875 Act right-of-way does not, without an express reservation, preserve an additional federal property interest in the corridor after abandonment.
- Great Northern’s interpretation of the 1875 Act controls characterization of these rights-of-way and forecloses treating them as grants with an implied federal reversionary interest.

## Conclusion

The Court held that an 1875 Act railroad right-of-way is an easement that ends upon abandonment; because the United States did not expressly reserve a post-abandonment interest in the Brandt patent, the government had no title to quiet in the abandoned corridor, and the landowner’s title became unburdened.


Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Tr. v. United States, 572 U.S. 93 (2014)