Appeals Court Sides with Railroad Company in Eminent Domain Fight; Property Owners Will Ask the Court to Reconsider

ATLANTA—Today, the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision granting a private railroad company the state’s power of eminent domain to take properties from several property owners in rural Sparta, Georgia. The property owners, represented by the Institute for Justice (IJ), will ask the Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision. If it does not, they will ask the Georgia Supreme Court to review this case. Fortunately, the Court of Appeals has left in place a stay against the railroad preventing it from going onto the clients’ land during the entirety of appeals.

“This case has always been about protecting land that has been in my family for generations so we’ll continue to fight this for as long as we can,” said Blaine Smith, one of the property owners. “But this is also about more than just my family’s land, it’s about protecting all Georgia property owners from this type of abuse.”

The case started in March 2023, when Sandersville Railroad asked the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) for permission to condemn and take land owned by Don and Sally Garrett, which has been in Don’s family for generations. In May 2023, the Garretts, Blaine and Diane Smith, and Marvin and Pat Smith teamed up with IJ to challenge the condemnation. Sandersville moved to condemn even more land after additional property owners joined the lawsuit in July 2023.

In September 2024, the PSC unanimously voted to approve Sandersville’s land grab. In February 2025, the Fulton County Superior Court upheld the PSC’s decision in favor of Sandersville but also issued a stay preventing Sandersville from beginning construction on the land until the lawsuit had concluded.

“Eminent domain is meant to be used for public projects like roads, bridges and schools, not a private rail line that will only service a few private companies,” said IJ Senior Attorney Bill Maurer. “We hope the Court of Appeals will reconsider its decision because the taking of our clients’ land for this private line violates both the Georgia and United States Constitutions.”