Burlington Northern Railroad Company v. Department Of Revenue Of The State Of Washington

23 F.3d 239 73 A.F.T.R.2d 94 -1902 BURLINGTON NORTHERN RAILROAD COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE OF the STATE OF WASHINGTON; William R. Wilkerson, in his capacity as Director of the Department of Revenue of the State of Washington, Defendants-Appellees. No. 92-36774. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted March 8, 1994. Decided April 28, 1994. Gregory J. Fletcher, Heiskell, Donelson, Bearman, Adams, Williams & Kirsch, Memphis, TN, for plaintiff-appellant. Cameron G. Comfort and James P. Richmond, Asst. Atty. Gen., Dept. of Revenue of the State of Washington, Olympia, WA, for defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, William L. Dwyer, District Judge, Presiding. Before: HUG, HALL and THOMPSON, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge Thompson. DAVID R. THOMPSON, Circuit Judge: 1 The State of Washington valued Burlington Northern Railroad Company's transportation property within the state, for ad valorem tax purposes, at $412.4 million for tax year 1988 and $423.5 million for tax year 1989. Burlington Northern sued the state in district court under section 306 of the…