It’s not unheard of for big corporations to throw its weight around, forcing people to move for the sake of business, like data centers. Now, a Tennessee woman is speaking up because her mother’s land is being encroached on by outsiders. To make matters worse, the poor woman is 81 years old!
TikTok user Brookesmithsander, Brooke, opened up about her 81-year-old mother’s ridiculous situation. Not only is she currently going through cancer treatment, Brooke claims CSX Transportation—it’s a railroad company—showed up at her mother’s house to tell them they’re taking part of their farmland. Brooke shares the details in a short video on TikTok.
As if that would go well with anyone, CSX showed Brooke some maps and explained the project. They’ll run a cable and access road on the farmland. When Brooke told her they weren’t going to do that, she said, “We can because the railroad has a 100-foot easement.” She pulled out a map from 1916 that has the easement length written on it.
Brooke tells the woman it isn’t recorded on their deed so she can’t just come in there and “take this land.” The woman then told her, “Well, we’re not taking it. You’re still going to own it.” And yet, that land will then become basically unusable, which sounds an awful lot like CSX would be taking it.
Brooke explains to the woman from CSX they’ve been paying property taxes for 70 years. No can tell them what to do with their land. After some back-and-forth, the woman said they’ll be moving forward with the project regardless, though she’ll still have to check with her legal department. At the end, Brooke adds, “Just because you’re a big corporation doesn’t mean you can come in and run over the farmers. This is theft.”
The Internet Reacts With Support and Offers Advice
On Brooke’s TikTok video, people felt just as much whiplash and anger as she was in her video. Naturally, the first thing many were quick to suggest was, “You need a lawyer, like yesterday.” Another commenter, being cheeky, said, “Good luck on your lawsuit.”
In response to Brooke telling CSX they aren’t doing anything unless they gave her a check, a viewer suggested getting an appraisal. Brooke responded, stating they did and that her “values tripled.”
Others were a little more helpful by namedropping attorney Dustin Kittle who, according to commenter has been “involved in this a lot.” Several who commented on the thread agreed, noting he lives in Tennessee now.
So not only does Brooke have a possible lawsuit on her hands, she might even walk away with some money. That’s assuming she gives up the land to CSX Transportation, which one user argued should be a “$2 million dollars a year lease.”
