The Railroad Cut Through His Property; He Wants $10,000
Philip Nagle sued the Idaho & Washington Northern, claiming a new track and excavation isolated his Newport land and ignored his property rights.
During the past week Philip Nagle has gone into the game and has started suit against the Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad for damages in the amount of $10,000. Hummer & Latimer, of Spokane, are attorneys for Mr. and Mrs. Nagle. The claim is made that the railroad has built a track close to the property of plaintiffs in this city and has done so without recognizing their property rights or reimbursing them for building so close to their property. They further allege that an excavation has been made cutting them off from the rest of the town and in that manner has greatly damaged their property.
“The railroad has built a track close to the property of plaintiffs in this city and has done so without recognizing their property rights or reimbursing them.”
Railroads were the region's growth machine, but they also redrew property lines and cut neighborhoods in two. The lawsuit is an early local version of the eminent-domain and 'takings' fights that still flare when transportation projects damage homes and businesses.
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