MISSOULA — On Monday, in front of Missoula District Court Judge Halligan, Intermountain Infrastructure Group (IIG) and BNSF argued over whether the utility company was allowed to install underground fiber optic cable on BNSF property with a public right of way and a utility easement.
(WATCH: Fiber optic cable company and BNSF dispute heard in court)
Property with a right of way on it means that the property has been dedicated to the community for the purpose of public usage - in this case, with the BNSF property, utility placement.
IIG installed fiber-optic cable underground on BNSF property in 2024, with BNSF then claiming that the company was trespassing.
Jesse Kodadek, an attorney representing IIG, argued that BNSF didn’t have the right to claim trespassing.
“Trespass requires the invasion of illegal property rights. But when Northern Pacific granted the public highway easements to the state and Missoula County, it gave up its right to exclude the public from those easements, including, as we'll see, utilities,” Kodadek said.
An easement is a private property giving entities, in this case utility companies, permission to be on their property.
BNSF argued that just because there was already a utility easement where IIG installed fiber optic cable, didn’t mean the company had permission.
“The state specifically required them to get a permit from BNSF in Missoula. Unambiguous. It was a condition proceeding to their permit. It says so on their permit,” Ben Rechtfertig, an attorney at Hedger Friend law firm representing BNSF, said.
Judge Halligan is expected to rule on the case in the near future.
