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This is a determination of the Railroad Retirement Board concerning the status
of Brandon Corporation (BC) as an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act (45
U.S.C. § 231 et seq.)(RRA) and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C.
§ 351 et seq.)(RUIA). BC (BA 4775) has been an employer under the Railroad
Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts since April 3, 1978 (See
Legal Opinion L-79-134). A review of the covered status of BC began when the
Board’s Audit and Compliance Division received information that BC’s assets were
sold to Brandon Railroad, LLC. In Finance Docket No. 34930, decided September
19, 2006, Brandon Railroad, LLC, filed with the Surface Transportation Board (STB)
a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 for the acquisition of
approximately 17.3 miles of rail line from BC in the former Omaha-South Omaha
switching district in Omaha, Nebraska.
The sale of BC’s assets, including 17.3 miles of rail line, was closed on
September 8, 2006. On February 29, 2008, the President of Brandon Corporation
signed Articles of Dissolution which stated that they would become effective as
of the date they were filed. The copy provided to the Board indicates that the
Articles of Dissolution were filed with the Secretary of the State of Nebraska
on November 20, 2008.
Section 202.11 (20 CFR 202.11) of the Board’s regulations states that:
The employer status of any company or person shall terminate whenever such
company or person loses any of the characteristics essential to the existence
of an employer status.
The evidence of record establishes that BC no longer possesses the
characteristics of a railroad carrier employer with the United States. The Board
therefore finds that effective November 20, 2008, the date BC filed Articles of
Dissolution with the Secretary of State of Nebraska, Brandon Corporation ceased
being a covered employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad
Unemployment Insurance Act.
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Original signed by: |
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FOR THE BOARD
Beatrice Ezerski
Secretary to the Board |
Although Brandon Railroad,
LLC, obtained the rail line and assets from BC, it had not yet started rail
operations as of February 2009. In a letter dated February 3, 2009, attorney
Kevin C. Maughan, Associate General Counsel of the Greenbrier Companies, Inc.,
and counsel to Brandon Railroad, LLC, advised that if Brandon Railroad, LLC (BRR)
“is not able to attract any traffic and determines that there is no likelihood
of any traffic developing in the foreseeable future, BRR may abandon its
operations and go out of business.” |
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