⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Federal Circuit hears 233rd Street Partnership versus the United States. The Partnership claims a property interest in a former railroad corridor beside its land in the Bronx. The city wants to turn that corridor into a recreational trail. In 2023, the Surface Transportation Board issued a notice permitting negotiations for interim trail use, and the Partnership sued the federal government for compensation. But the Court of Federal Claims rejected the claim: it concluded that an 1872 deed had already transferred ownership of the disputed land to the railroad. The Partnership now challenges that ruling. The distinction is between an easement, a right to use another owner's land, and fee simple, ownership of the land itself. The Partnership says an earlier condemnation gave the railroad only an easement, and the later deed merely acknowledged that taking. The government says the later deed separately transferred ownership. That historical ownership question determines whether the Partnership has a property interest for which it can seek compensation.

233rd Street Partnership, L.P. v. US (No. 25-1849) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, argued October 5, 2026.