Delaware v. Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Co.

323 F. Supp. 487, 1 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20105, 2 ERC (BNA) 1355, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14458
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedFebruary 24, 1971
DocketCiv. A. 3849
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 323 F. Supp. 487 (Delaware v. Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Delaware v. Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Co., 323 F. Supp. 487, 1 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20105, 2 ERC (BNA) 1355, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14458 (D. Del. 1971).

Opinion

OPINION

CALEB M. WRIGHT, Chief Judge.

This opinion will mark the reported beginning of the federal chapter of the continuing legal dispute between the State of Delaware and the Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Company (“Penn Central”) 1 concerning Penn Central’s dike and fill operation on a certain portion of the Delaware River. 2 The case is presently before the Court for decision on the defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction 3 or to stay. Since this is a jurisdictional opin *489 ion raising a number of somewhat complicated procedural issues, an abbreviated statement of facts will suffice.

I. PARTIES AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND.

The plaintiffs in this action are: The State of Delaware; New Castle County; the Council of Civic Organizations of Brandywine Hundred, Inc.; and one Thomas Webster, Jr., individually and allegedly on behalf of all others similarly situated. The defendants are: Penn Central; Stanley S. Resor, individually and as Secretary of the Army; and Frederick J. Clarke, individually and as Chief of Engineers, Corps of Engineers of the United States Army. 4

The defendants and the state and county governments presumably need no introduction. The Council of Civic Organizations of Brandywine Hundred, Inc. is alleged to represent 80 civic associations in Brandywine Hundred, a geographical area that includes the Penn Central land in question. Plaintiff Webster is a resident of the State of Delaware and alleges that for many years he has used Stoney Creek as access to the Delaware River and has used the land along the shore for recreational purposes. The complaint states that the class that Mr. Webster is alleged to represent also use the River, Creek and shore as a public right or easement. This opinion does not address any of the questions that would arise if the defendants challenged the class action aspect of this suit; Webster will be mentioned only individually.

In 1917 the Penn Central leased from the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Company, a. Delaware Corporation, the land adjacent to the Delaware River that is involved in this litigation. The lease was for a term of 999 years, terminating in 2916 A.D. 5 In August 1946 Penn Central applied to the District Engineer, Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to dike and fill a portion of the foreshore which was granted in November 1946. In each of the years 1949, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1962, 1966 and 1969 this permit was acted upon by the Corps favorably to Penn Central. The defendants argue that the permit was “extended” on a given date in each of those years for an additional period of time. Plaintiffs offer documentary evidence attached to their brief to demonstrate that at each juncture the old permit by its terms had expired and become null and void and that the subsequent “extension” was in fact a “reissuance.” The significance the parties attach to this dispute is somewhat unclear at present, but whichever version is correct is irrelevant to this motion. Because this is a motion to dismiss, the Court will accept the plaintiffs’ version for purposes of this decision.

In any event, during July 1954 Penn Central finally began filling the foreshore in question. For a period of several months during 1965 the Corps of Engineers ordered the railroad to stop filling until the diking was completed, but otherwise the operation continued at its own pace until June 9, 1970. On that date a new Delaware statute was *490 enacted which prohibited diking and filling operations on the Delaware River and Bay for a period of one year.

Plaintiffs have alleged that a series of Delaware citizens and groups opposed the operation as early as 1946 in letters and petitions to the Corps on the basis that the project would have an adverse effect on property values in the area and on the residential character of the area and the recreational value of the River and shore. The Corps has never conducted a public hearing on the permit although it has apparently given public notice of the several extensions. See, defendant Penn Central’s Brief at III, IV; Plaintiffs’ Brief at 4 and Appendix 16. Not until 1956 did the State itself get into the dispute — serving notice that it claimed title to part of the land being filled by Penn Central.

The State and County had a number of meetings and discussions with the railroad during the late fifties and early sixties. In 1963, the plaintiff Council of Civic Associations of Brandywine Hundred became involved in these discussions. In the end the plans discussed could not be agreed upon, and the State filed suit in October 1964 in State Court against the Penn Central seeking a declaratory judgment that the State held title to the subaqueous land being filled (the foreshore). In the course of the decisions cited in footnote 1 supra, the state courts have authoritatively decided: (1) that Penn Central was and is the riparian owner and therefore, under Delaware law, owns to the mean low water mark; (2) that the State has certain police powers over the foreshore (the area between the mean low water mark and the mean high water mark) but had not exercised them in a manner that would preclude Penn Central’s dike and fill operation; (3) that a 1967 survey of the area provides the most accurate available measure of the mean low water line; and (4) that using the 1967 boundary line Penn Central’s fill operation had not trespassed on State owned land. The final decision on the matters raised in the state suit was filed by the Supreme Court of Delaware on January 7, 1971. See note 2 supra. As far as this Court knows, the state court litigation is now at an end.

On February 13, 1970, the plaintiffs filed the complaint in the instant litigation; an amended complaint was filed on August 4, 1970. The amended complaint states five causes of action. The first cause of action alleges that the Corps of Engineers permit for the diking and filling project is invalid because such a permit may only be granted with the consent of Congress under 33 U.S.C. § 401 and that the operation causes certain definite and irreparable harm to plaintiffs. 6 The second cause of action alleges that the Webster class has engaged in open, continuous and adverse use of the land for twenty years giving rise to a common easement for recreational purposes in favor of the public, and, of course, that the operation will interfere with those rights of the public. The third cause of action alleges that Stoney Creek is a navigable stream and that the operation will block it off in violation of 33 U.S.C. § 401 and to the detriment of the Webster class who have used it for more than twenty years for access to the Delaware River. The fourth cause of action alleges that the diking and filling operation will result in a trespass on the state-owned land channelward of the mean low water mark.

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Bluebook (online)
323 F. Supp. 487, 1 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20105, 2 ERC (BNA) 1355, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14458, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/delaware-v-pennsylvania-new-york-central-transportation-co-ded-1971.