Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. SCC

Syllabus

05/22/2025 In a railroad's challenge to the constitutionality of Code § 56-16.3, a statute that permits broadband service providers to install fiber optic cables across railroad property, it is held that this statute authorizes a private broadband service provider to take railroad property for a nonpublic use. This application of Code § 56-16.3 violates Article I, Section 11 of the Constitution of Virginia. The judgment of the State Corporation Commission is reversed, and the case is remanded for entry of judgment in favor of the railroad.