Preseault v. United States
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
100 F.3d 1525 (1996)
A railroad's 1899 right-of-way over Preseault's (plaintiff) land ceased operating in 1970, with tracks and equipment removed by 1975; under the Rails-to-Trails Act, Vermont and Burlington later converted the abandoned corridor into a public recreational trail with ICC approval. Preseault sued the United States (defendant), claiming this conversion was an uncompensated taking of his reversionary property interest since the original railway easement had been abandoned, and the trial court found no taking occurred.
Whether an easement is terminated if it is used in a way that is inconsistent with the easement's original use and that was not reasonably foreseeable at the time the easement was established.