Gregory v. United States

102 Fed. Cl. 631, 2011 U.S. Claims LEXIS 2416, 2011 WL 6826380
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Gregory v. United States. Read the opinion of the Court — 101 Fed. Cl. 203
United States Court of Federal Claims·Decided December 29, 2011·No. No. 09-114L·Published

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER ON PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION

WHEELER, Judge.

Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration of the Court’s October 12, 2011 opinion and order regarding 331 rails-to-trails property claims addressed in the [632] parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. See Gregory v. United States, 101 Fed.Cl. 203, 204-05 (2011). Plaintiffs timely filed their motion pursuant to Rule 59(b) of the Court of Federal Claims (“RCFC”). For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs’ motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

The Court is able to grant Plaintiffs’ motion in part because of a stipulation that the parties entered after issuance of the October 12, 2011 opinion and order. The parties have stipulated that the Ripley Railroad Charter applies to the claims in Category I. D, as well as to part of claim 31 and part of claim 133. In light of this stipulation, the Court concludes that the Railroad acquired an easement in the parcels in Category I.D and in the pertinent parts of parcels 31 and 133. Accordingly, Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment on claims 34, 35, 65, 66, 67A, 67B, 141, 154B, 154C, and the pertinent parts of claims 31 and 133 is GRANTED, and Defendant’s motion for summary judgment on those claims is DENIED.

BACKGROUND

On December 1, 2011, Plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration, requesting the Court to reconsider its interpretation of sections 8 and 9 of the Gulf & Ship Charter and its conclusion that the Charter authorized the Railroad to contract for an easement or fee title. In Plaintiffs’ view, “the Charter ... compels the conclusion that the railroad could only obtain an easement for its right-of-way pursuant to said Charter.” (Pis.’ Mot. 2, Dec. 1, 2011, Dkt. No. 81) (hereinafter “Pis.’ Mot.”). Defendant filed a response to Plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration on December 16, 2011. In its response, the Government contends that Plaintiffs have not met the “high threshold for reconsideration,” as they have not shown that the controlling law has changed, that new evidence has become available since the Court issued its opinion, or that reconsideration is necessary to avoid a manifest injustice. (Def.’s Resp. 1, Dec. 16, 2011, Dkt. No. 83) (hereinafter “Def.’s Resp.”). On December 21, 2011, Plaintiffs filed a reply in further support of their motion for reconsideration, asserting that they filed their motion to correct a clear error of law and not merely to restate arguments previously made. (Dkt. No. 84) (hereinafter “Pis.’ Repl”).

In Plaintiffs’ motion and reply, Plaintiffs also stipulated that the Ripley Railroad Charter applies to all parcels the Railroad obtained by adverse possession, including the nine parcels in Category I.D (34, 35, 65, 66, 67A, 67B, 141, 154B, and 154C), as well as parcels 31, 112, 133 and 196. (Pis.’ Mot. at 9-12); (Pis.’ Repl. at 2.)1 The Government agreed to stipulate that the Ripley Railroad Charter applies to the parcels in Category I.D and the portion of parcels 31 and 133 that the Railroad acquired pursuant to section 3094 of the 1906 Code of Mississippi, but not as to parcels 112 and 196. (Def.’s Resp. at 1-2.)

DISCUSSION

I. Motion for Reconsideration

Pursuant to RCFC 59(a)(1), it is within the Court’s discretion to grant a motion for reconsideration. See Yuba Natural Res., Inc. v. United States, 904 F.2d 1577, 1583 (Fed.Cir.1990). The moving party must show the presence of “extraordinary circumstances which justify relief.” Fru-Con Constr. Corp. v. United States, 44 Fed.Cl. 298, 300 (1999), aff'd 250 F.3d 762 (Fed.Cir.2000) (internal citation omitted). The showing “must be based ‘upon manifest error of law, or mistake of fact, and is not intended to give an unhappy litigant an additional chance to sway the court.’ ” Prati v. United States, 82 Fed.Cl. 373, 376 (2008) (internal citations omitted). “Specifically, the moving party must show: (i) an intervening change in controlling law; (ii) the availability of previously unavailable evidence; or (iii) the necessity of granting the motion to prevent manifest in[633] justice.” Alli v. United States, 86 Fed.Cl. 33, 34 (2009) (internal citations omitted).

Plaintiffs’ arguments relating to sections 8 and 9 of the Gulf & Ship Charter do not persuade the Court to reconsider its decision. In their motion, Plaintiffs challenge the Court’s conclusion that the Gulf & Ship Charter authorized the Railroad to contract for an easement or fee title. (Pis.’ Mot. at 2); see Gregory, 101 Fed.Cl. at 209-10. Instead, “Plaintiffs believe the Charter, including [sections 8 and 9], compels the conclusion that the railroad could obtain an easement for its right-of-way pursuant to said Charter.” (Pis.’ Mot. at 2.) Plaintiffs already made, see (Pis.’ Mem. 8, June 20, 2011, Dkt. No. 59), and the Court already considered and rejected, see Gregory, 101 Fed.Cl. at 209-10, this argument in its October 12, 2011 opinion. In requesting reconsideration, Plaintiffs do not rely on an intervening change in the law or previously unavailable evidence but simply restate their interpretation of the Gulf & Ship Charter—an interpretation already rejected by this Court. Accordingly, Plaintiffs have not demonstrated the presence of circumstances justifying reconsideration under RCFC 59.

II. Category I.D Claims and the Pertinent Parts of Claims 31 and 1332

In its previous opinion, the Court concluded that issues of material fact made it inappropriate to resolve the category I.D claims and part of claims 31 and 133 by summary judgment. See Gregory, 101 Fed.Cl. at 215, 222, 223. Specifically, the Court noted that to reach a decision on those claims, it would need to know which railroad charter applies to said claims. Id. at 215. In response, the parties have stipulated that the Ripley Railroad Charter applies to the Category I.D claims and to the portion of claims 31 and 133 that the Railroad acquired pursuant to section 3094. See (Pis.’Mot. at 1-12); (Def.’s Resp. at 3); (Pis.’ Repl. at 2). In light of their stipulation, the Court finds that the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment as to the claims in Category I.D and the remainder of claims 31 and 133 are ready for decision.

The parties had stipulated previously that section 3094 of the 1906 Code of Mississippi is the relevant conveyance instrument for the Category I.D claims (34, 35, 65, 66, 67A, 67B, 141, 154B, and 154C), see (Def.’s Resp. to Pis.’ Proposed Additional Facts, July 21, 2011, Dkt. No. 70), a portion of claim 31, see (Pis.’ Mem. 46, June 20, 2011, Dkt. No. 49); (Def.’s Mem. 25, July 21, 2011, Dkt. No. 68), and a portion of claim 133 (Pis.’ PFUF, Ex. A). Section 3094, now codified at section 15-1-13 of the Mississippi Code, provides:

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Gregory v. United States, 102 Fed. Cl. 631, 2011 U.S. Claims LEXIS 2416, 2011 WL 6826380 (uscfc 2011).

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