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Eric M. Hocky

Member
fax +1 215.640.8501

Eric M. Hocky represents railroads and other transportation interests on a variety of regulatory and commercial matters including mergers, acquisitions of rail lines, and construction of new rail lines, as well as abandonments and conversions of rail lines to trails.

Eric serves railroad clients involved in short line and regional railroads, as well as holding company families of railroads and railroad startups. Eric regularly appears before the Surface Transportation Board and counsels on other regulatory requirements including Railroad Retirement and safety requirements. In connection with commercial matters, he negotiates a variety of contracts between railroads, as well as between railroads and shippers and suppliers.

Dealing with railroad real estate can present unique issues. Eric counsels clients on real property issues that arise in the course of acquisitions and in connection with the abandonment and transfer of rail lines, as well as those which arise in connection with the licensing and leasing of railroad property.

In financing transactions, Eric advises both borrowers and lenders on the specialized requirements for mortgages and security interests in railroad property and equipment and the proper recording of those interests.

He has litigated transportation matters involving preemption of local regulation of carriers, rail rates and commercial practices of carriers, freight loss and damage claims on behalf of carriers and freight shippers, and judicial review of a variety of agency orders.

Education

J.D., cum laude, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1981
B.A., magna cum laude, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1978

Recognitions

Recipient, Association of Transportation Law Professionals Presidential Award for Exceptional Service, 2008, 2009, 2013

Memberships

Association of Transportation Law Professionals, Member (President, 2009-2010; Board, 2005-2016)

American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, Associate Member (General Counsel Committee, Chair, 2014-2016)

Philadelphia Bar Association

State Bar Licenses

Pennsylvania

Court Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit
U.S. District Ct., E.D. of Pennsylvania
Articles
Presentations
  • Speaker, “Local Regulation of Railroads: Guidance for Municipal Attorneys on Navigating the Complexities of Federal Preemption,” Strafford live webinar, August 11, 2020 & April 11, 2019
  • Speaker, “Hot! Hot! Hot! Legal Topics, Ask The Experts,” ASLRRA Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, April 2019
  • Speaker, “Railroad Law 101 (Preemption for Transit Attorneys),” APTA Legal Affairs Seminar, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 2019
  • Speaker, “Grade Crossings and Bridges: Who Pays? Who Maintains?” ASLRRA General Counsel Symposium, Kansas City, Missouri, November 2017
  • Moderator & Speaker, “Managing Today’s Oversupply of Railcars,” ASLRRA Annual Meeting, National Harbor, Maryland, April 2016
  • Speaker, “PTC: The Bad and the Ugly (Jury is Out on the Good),” ASLRRA General Counsel Symposium, Kansas City, Missouri, October, 2015
  • Speaker, “Handling HazMat: Controlling What You’re Hauling,” ASLRRA General Counsel Symposium, Kansas City, Missouri, October, 2014
  • Speaker, “Selling & Purchasing a Railroad: The Legal Side,” ASLRRA General Counsel Symposium, Kansas City, Missouri, November 2013
  • Speaker, “Railroad Regulatory Issues at the Surface Transportation Board,” Association of Transportation Law Professionals (ATLP) Fall Forum, Washington, D.C., October 2013
  • Speaker, “Ex Parte No. 711, Petition for Rulemaking to Adopt Revised Competitive Switching Rules,” Association of Transportation Law Professionals Fall Forum, Washington D.C., November, 2012
  • Speaker, “The STB Competition Proceeding & What It May Mean to Short Lines,” American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association Southern Region Meeting, November, 2012
  • Speaker, “Access To New Traffic Through Rail Constructions, Rail Crossings, And The Railroad Industry Agreement,” American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, April 2012
  • Speaker, “The Common Carrier Obligation – What Is It and When Does It Apply,” American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association Annual Convention, Las Vegas, April 2009

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