Link: http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2010/06/21/daily47.html
Judge throws out bullet train lawsuit
SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES - BY Eric Young
A Sacramento judge has thrown out a lawsuit that sought to delay construction of California’s bullet train.
Two property owners near the proposed route in Menlo Park filed suit last August, seeking to prove that construction of the high-speed route along the Caltrain tracks could not start until the California High-Speed Rail Authority got approval from Union Pacific, which operates freight trains on the corridor.
The high-speed rail authority acknowledged in legal filings that it cannot start the project until it has UP’s consent. The rail authority is trying to negotiate with UP to share the line.
In a ruling issued Tuesday, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Kevin Culhane said the property owners’ lawsuit had no merit.
Bullet train planners claimed victory.
“It was probably the most frivolous lawsuit I’ve seen in 50 years as a trial attorney,” said Quentin Kopp, a member of the state’s High-Speed Rail Authority board.
A lawyer representing the property owners, Zach Tyson, could not be reached immediately for comment Wednesday.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority still has other legal hurdles to overcome. It is working to satisfy another Sacramento County Superior Court judge who ruled that the bullet train’s environmental impact report must correct some deficiencies.
Eric Young’s beats include law, government, transportation and sports for the San Francisco Business Times.
Contact him at eyoung@bizjournals.com or (415) 288-4969.
Read his blog postings at Bay Area BizTalk.
Read more: Judge throws out bullet train lawsuit - San Francisco Business Times
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