Items of Interest

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Griffioen v. Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Company, et. al.; Iowa District Court; Linn County, Case No. LACV078694.

Charles Hvass and David Donna were part of a team that obtained a Judgment on the Pleadings for the Union Pacific and other defendants in a multi-billion dollar claim for property damage arising out of the 2008 flooding of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Plaintiffs claimed that multiple bridges spanning the Cedar River, two of which were owned by the Union Pacific, led to the 500 year flood. The District Court held the claims for property damage by over 6,000 landowners were pre-empted under Federal law, and dismissed the claims, awarding costs against the plaintiffs. The case involved multiple issues interpreting the scope of the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (“ICCTA”), the powers of the Surface Transportation Board, and pre-emption of state law attempts to regulate the operation of rail activities.

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