Raymond A. Atkins Ph.D.

State and federal litigation cases worked on by Ray include:

• Union Pacific R.R. Co. v. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 953 F.3d 86 (D.C. Cir. 2020) (denial of petition for review of security measures for hazardous material shipment information) 
• Association of Am. R.R. v. Hatfield, Civil No. 3:18-cv-00028-GFVT (D.C.E.D. Ky., Jan. 28, 2020) (granting injunction against the enforcement of state statute against the railroad industry)
• Drummond Coal Sales, Inc. v. Norfolk Southern Ry. Co., Civil Action No. 7:16-cv-00489 (D.C.W.D. Va., Feb. 26, 2020) (denial of request by plaintiff for recession of transportation contract and reimbursement of prior payments)
• Norfolk Southern Ry. Co. v. Hartry, 837 S.E.2d 303 (Ga. 2019) (finding no preclusion of FELA claim, even if railroad has complied with the applicable federal standard of care established by the federal rail safety agency)
• BNSF Ry. Co. v. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, 904 F.3d 755 (9th Cir. 2018) (argued) (affirming district court preliminary injunction against enforcement of hazmat fee imposed on rail transportation)
• State v. Norfolk Southern Ry. Co., 98 N.E.3d 70 (Ill. 2018) (argued) (finding state statute unconstitutional as applied to railroad industry)
• Alaska Survival v. STB, 705 F.3d 1073 (9th Cir. 2013) (affirming agency’s approval for the construction of new rail line in Alaska against environmental challenges)
• Maryland Transit Admin. v. STB, 700 F.3d 139 (4th Cir. 2012) (affirming agency’s implementation of the Rails-to-Trails Act against federalism challenge) 
• Village of Barrington, Ill. v. STB, 636 F.3d 650 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (affirming agency’s approval of controversial rail acquisition with conditions from challenge by the railroad and local communities)
• Brotherhood of R.R. Signalmen v. STB, 638 F.3d 807 (D.C. Cir. 2011) (affirming agency’s doctrine that permits states to acquire rail facilities without becoming a common carrier) 
• New York & Atlantic Ry. Co. v. STB, 635 F.3d 66 (2nd Cir. 2011) (affirming agency’s finding of no federal preemption of state laws that regulate the operation of a rail transloading facility)
• Union Pacific R.R. Co. v. STB, 628 F.3d 597 (D.C. Cir. 2010) (affirming agency’s use of new simplified rate reasonableness procedures)
• CSX Transp., Inc. v. STB, 568 F.3d 236 (D.C. Cir. 2009) (argued for STB) (affirming major rulemaking to create simplified rate review procedures)
• W. Coal Traffic League v. STB, No. 07-1064 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 1, 2008) (argued for STB) (affirming use of single-stage discounted cash flow model instead of Capital Asset Pricing Model to estimate cost of equity) 
• BNSF Ry. Co. v. STB, 526 F.3d 770 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (argued for STB) (affirming rulemaking that implemented six major reforms to rate review processes)
• Otter Tail Power Co. v. STB, 484 F.3d 959 (8th Cir. 2007) (argued for STB) (affirming finding that the challenged freight rail rates were not unreasonable) 
• Toledo, Peoria & W. Ry. v. STB, 462 F.3d 734 (7th Cir. 2006) (argued for STB) (affirming forced sale of rail line against challenge that sale price fell below the constitutional minimum value), 549 U.S. 1278 (2007) (writ for certiorari denied) 
• BNSF Ry. Co. v. STB, 453 F.3d 473 (D.C. Cir. 2006) (argued for STB) (affirmed finding that railroad charged unreasonably high rates) 
• PPL Montana, LLC v. STB, 437 F.3d 1240 (D.C. Cir. 2006) (argued for STB) (affirming new internal cross-subsidy check applied by the agency to deny rate relief) 

Ray draws upon 10-years of government service to represent clients in regulatory disputes. During his tenure with the STB, where he held the positions of General Counsel and Chief of Staff, Ray spearheaded complex rulemaking and adjudicatory proceedings. His experiences embraced a broad array of transportation regulatory issues, including:

• Representing the agency in all legal matters, including appeals of agency decisions
• Resolving multi-million dollar rate disputes and competitive access cases
• Guiding the agency in cases involving the scope of the common carrier obligation and the reasonableness of carrier practices involving fuel surcharges, the transportation of toxic inhalation hazard (TIH) chemicals, and indemnification provisions
• Designing simplified guidelines to judge the reasonableness of rates charged by the freight railroads and modernizing the approach used to estimate the cost of capital for the railroad industry
• Counseling the agency on its role in regulating high-speed passenger rail
• Consulting with foreign dignitaries from countries such as Canada, Mexico, Sweden, United Arab Emirates and China on the American model for regulating the freight and passenger rail industries

• Adjunct Professor, George Mason University School of Law (2005–2007)
• American Bar Association
• Association of Transportation Law Professionals
• District of Columbia Bar
• Federal Bar Association