Mason City church sues railroad, claims trespassing

[globegazette.com]

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Mar 4, 2017

MASON CITY | A Mason City church has filed a lawsuit against Iowa Traction Railway, alleging the company built a rail line on its property without permission.

Christian Fellowship Church, located at 1181 15th St. S.W., claims Iowa Traction Railway installed the line after negotiations for the railroad to acquire a portion of the church's land were unsuccessful.

The railroad owns land immediately adjacent and to the east of the real estate owned by the church, according to the lawsuit.

The petition states the church has asked Iowa Traction Railway to remove the line, but the company refuses.

Fletcher & Sippel LLC, legal counsel for the railroad, states in a court document filed in response to the lawsuit that the boundary between the church property and the railway property to the east is in dispute.

The company gained ownership of the land in question through adverse possession, according to the document.

Adverse possession means if someone openly occupies a piece of land belonging to someone else for a certain amount of time, the occupying party gains ownership of that land.

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