If you have received a Notice re TX Fiber Optic settlement, be sure to read it carefully to understand the terms. To opt-out, you must send a letter to class action attorneys by mid December. Otherwise you will be bound by terms. Suit regards installation of fiber optic cable in Railroad Row without consent of adjoining surface owner. This was not allowable under terms of some railroad easements. Rather than determine terms of each easement, proposal to pay small compensation (per foot along railroad track) to all surface owners along tracks on certain routes across TX. In return, cable company will have permanent easement on adjoining surface to access buried cable lines. This is a permanent and transferable right to use your private road to access their lands. Many surface owners grant road easements for significantly more money per foot and these days the road easement is most often only for a specific and limited purpose, such as access to a well site, and that use terminates at some point. It is disturbing that this notice was sent by regular mail when the class action attorneys are asking the judge to impose a perpetual easement over the surface of any owner who fails to opt-out. This settlement should have required the express consent of surface owners.
This analysis is correct, one should beware of taking this offer, especially depending on circumstances of how the railroad might want access in the future. But it is especially disturbing that the court will authorize an easement to be granted IF YOU DO NOTHING. This is preposterous to me. But the only way you can prevent such an easement is to opt out as described and receive no payment. Then, because you have opted out, you no longer have standing to object to the court for granting easements against those who do nothing. Our courts should stand up for individual rights better than this.
I am going to add another comment to this, because the more I look into the history of lands underlying Texas and Pacific railroad in West Texas the less I see in terms of express reservation from the deeds either from railroad entities or their receivers or the State Public Lands to the first individual owners. As a result, I would say there is a lot of question what title to ROW is held by the railroad. An adverse easement probably to be sure, but is there anything more? So a holder of any tract affected by this fiber optic settlement, either by doing nothing or accepting the settlement payment may be giving rights to not only adjacent land, but to that portion of of their tract underlying the railroad. I would be hesitant to do that.
Well we received the Notice of Qualified Claim, they want us to sign this and return it in order to receive a whopping $329.40 for an award, We have decided not to sign it or accept their payoff, however even if we don't take it, the courts will be giving them the easement anyway.
The only ones that made out were the Attorney's, judges and the Fiber Optic company, This is such violation of our constitutional rights,