Abstract
This Article argues that the Ninth Circuit erred in Alaska Railroad Corp. v. Flying Crown Subdivision Additions Nos. 1 & 2 Property Owners Ass'n by recognizing an exclusive use easement that permits the Alaska Railroad Corporation to unilaterally exclude private property owners from non-interfering uses of the right-of-way. Drawing on common law easement principles reaffirmed in Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, the Article demonstrates that exclusivity must be conferred through specific language in a creating instrument and cannot be implied from federal railroad legislation. The Article calls for legislative reform and remedial judicial interpretation to curtail the ongoing expansion of railroad control over privately owned land and to restore non-interfering use rights to affected property owners.
Citation
John W. Pletcher & Mia E. Manney,
A Trainwreck in the Making: The Alaska Railroad Right-of-Way,
42 Alaska Law Review
277-320
(2026)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/alr/vol42/iss2/3