Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Casey Jones you better watch your speed.
Trouble ahead, trouble behind,
And you know that notion just crossed my mind…
This quote predicates the recent opinion which Judge Glenn Harrell writes for the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in Montgomery County v. Bhatt. In Maryland, as in many other states, landowners can lose title to all or a portion of their property if it is occupied by another. Ajay Bhatt resided at property where a fence and shed had been placed on the B & O Railroad/Capital Crescent Trail a railway line that was no longer being used for that purpose. It had been there long enough for Ajay to obtain the property by adverse possession. Unfortunately, the Court of Appeals ruled that railway lines are not be subject to a claim for adverse possession, without evidence of clear abandonment or a clear shift away from public use.
