Quiet Title Action • Dedication of Street to the Public for Railroad Use • Statute of Limitations • Implicit Evidence of Vacating Property

Zalman v. City of Chester, PICS Case No. 17-1123 (Pa. Commw. June 27, 2017) Colins, J. (20 pages).

Portion of street in use by railroad track was dedicated to the public use prior to implementation of 21-year statute of limitations, evidenced by charter granted by the commonwealth to a railroad corporation to construct the railway. Order of the trial court affirmed.

Bernard and Sandra Zalman and the city of Chester cross-appealed from the order of the trial court quieting title to a portion of Yarnall Street and a portion of West Front Street located within the city. Appellants owned properties at the northwest and southwest corners of the intersection of Yarnall and West Front Streets, which was in an area previously dominated by railroad tracks and industrial properties. Appellants filed the present quiet title action to determine whether they or the city were legal owners of portions of Yarnall and West Front Streets. After a trial, the trial court ruled that the portion of West Front Street abutting appellants' property belonged to the city, while the western half of Yarnall Street stretching from the intersection to the southern boundary of appellants' property belonged to appellants.