If You Own or Owned Land Under or Next to Railroad Rights of Way Where Fiber-Optic Cable Was Installed, You Could Receive Money from a Class Action Settlement.
A class action settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Sprint Communications Company L.P. (“Sprint” or “Defendant”) in the United States District Court for the District of Montana (styled Amunrud v. Sprint Communications Co., Class Action Case No.1:10-CV-00057-RFC-CSO) alleging, among other things, that Sprint or its predecessors buried fiber-optic cable and installed related telecommunications equipment within railroad rights of way across the United States with the consent of the railroads but allegedly failed to get consent from adjoining landowners before installing Telecommunications Facilities (such as fiber-optic, copper, or coaxial cables for the transmission of voice or data) in the railroad rights of way, according to the Amunrud v. Sprint Communications Railroad Rights of Way Fiber-Optic Cable Class Action Settlement notice.
You are reportedly a member of the Amunrud v. Sprint Communications Railroad Rights of Way Fiber-Optic Cable Class if you own or co-own (or formerly owned or co-owned) land in the following Montana counties: Broadwater, Custer, Dawson, Gallatin, Granite, Jefferson, Lake, Lewis & Clark, Missoula, Park, Powell, Prairie, Rosebud, Sanders, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Treasure, Wibaux, or Yellowstone that is next to or under a railroad right of way where Telecommunications Facilities have been installed by Sprint. This land is referred to as “Covered Property.” You are reportedly not a Class Member if you are: a national, state, or local governmental entity, a railroad or a railroad-affiliated entity, a Native American nation or tribe or if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.
The Sprint Railroad Right of Way Fiber-Optic Cable Settlement will reportedly provide cash payments to those who qualify and file valid claims and will provide Sprint certain telecommunications easement rights in the rights of way. The amount of payments will depend on a number of factors, including:
- How many feet of property you own next to the railroad right of way,
- How long you owned the property,
- How the railroad got its property rights, and
- How many people co-own the property with you.
There are also different benefit levels, as follows:
Pre-1875 Land Grant Non-Section Benefits – If your property is in a Pre-1875 Settlement Non-Section Corridor, you have two benefit options:
- Pre-1875 Land Grant Non-Section – If you owned the property for the entire Compensation Period, your payment would be $0.26 per foot.
- State Benefits – You can try to get a larger payment if you can prove that an earlier owner of your property obtained rights to it before the railroad got its right to use the property for railroad purposes. If you owned the property for the entire Compensation Period, your payment would be $1.25 per foot.
Pre-1875 Federal Land Grant Section Benefits – If your property is in a Pre-1875 Settlement Section Corridor, you have two benefit options:
- Pre-1875 Land Grant Section – If you owned the property for the entire Compensation Period, your payment would be $0.13 per foot.
- State Benefits – You can try to get a larger payment if you can show that an earlier owner of your property obtained rights to it before the railroad got its right to use the property for railroad purposes. If you owned the property for the entire Compensation Period, your payment would be $1.25 per foot.
The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing at 10:00 a.m. on February 3, 2012, at the United States District Court for the District of Montana, located at 316 North 26th Street, Billings, MT 59101, in Courtroom No. III to decide whether to give final approval to the Sprint Railroad Rights of Way Fiber-Optic Cable Settlement.
For more information on the Amunrud v. Sprint Communications Railroad Rights of Way Fiber-Optic Cable class action settlement, read the class action settlement agreement or visit the Sprint Railroad Rights of Way Fiber-Optic Cable Settlement website:
montanafibersettlement.com
If You Have Thoughts On The Amunrud v. Sprint Communications Railroad Rights of Way Fiber-Optic Cable Class Action Lawsuit Settlement, Share Your Class Action Settlement Comments Below.