Bittle v. Cam-Colorado, LLC

2012 COA 93, 318 P.3d 65, 2012 WL 2045802, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 921
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 7, 2012
DocketNo. 11CA0766
StatusPublished
Cited by627 cases

This text of 2012 COA 93 (Bittle v. Cam-Colorado, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bittle v. Cam-Colorado, LLC, 2012 COA 93, 318 P.3d 65, 2012 WL 2045802, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 921 (Colo. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge HAWTHORNE.

{1 In this adverse possession action, defendant, CAM-Colorado, LLC, appeals those parts of the judgment entered in favor of plaintiffs, Dale K. Bittle and Patricia L. Bit-tle, concluding that Mesa County is an indispensable party concerning CAM-Colorado's claim that three roads are public roads and also denying CAM-Colorado an easement of * necessity. The Bittles cross-appeal the district court's order denying their post-trial C.R.C.P. 59(a) motion to amend the judgment to include a ruling pursuant to C.R.C.P. 15(b) as to whether the Bittles adversely possessed land referred to as parcel 4. We affirm the court's judgment as to the indispensable party and easement of necessity issues, but reverse the court's order denying the Bittles® C.R.C.P. 59(a) motion and remand the case to the district court to amend the judgment to include a ruling on the parcel 4 issue.

I. Facts

T2 The Bittles are a married couple who live on land that they also use for farming and grazing livestock. They purchased the majority of their land in 1973, but acquired another small parcel in 1977. Their land abuts land owned by CAM-Colorado.

13 CAM-Colorado, also known as the Central Appalachian Mining Company-Colorado, is a coal company subsidiary. CAM-Colorado purchased property from Tavistock Partners, LLC-including the disputed property-after the Bittles initiated the present litigation. CAM-Colorado bought the land to use as a loading facility for coal trucked from the McClane Canyon Mine located twenty miles north, and then hauled out by train. At the time of trial, CAM-Colorado had not yet constructed the coal load-out facility, nor had it obtained the permits for building the rail lines.

14 The Bittles initiated this litigation by filing a complaint to quiet title to a portion of land to which Tavistock Partners held record title. The complaint alleged that the Bittles and their predecessors in title "fenced, farmed, grazed and with hostile character have lived visibly, obviously, openly, notoriously, continuously, exclusively and adversely possessed and used such property since 1949, or earlier." The complaint also stated that the disputed land's boundary "is delineated by existing fences and the precise location will be shown by survey."

15 Tavistock Partners denied the adverse possession claim, asserted a counterclaim for trespass, and sought an injunction against further trespassing by the Bittles Once CAM-Colorado entered the case in place of Tavistock Partners, the district court granted it leave to file an amended answer and counterclaims. CAM-Colorado likewise asserted a counterclaim for trespass against the Bit-tles and sought an injunction against further trespassing by them. If the court were to find that the Bittles had adversely possessed its land, CAM-Colorado also claimed that it was entitled to an easement of necessity across the Bittles' land and a declaration that three roads that cross the Bittles' land are public roads.

T 6 During the bench trial, the Bittles presented evidence that they had adversely possessed the fenced land, as stated in their complaint. They also presented evidence that they had adversely possessed land next to the fenced land referred to as "parcel 4," which was bounded by a water drainage known as the Loma Drain.

T7 The court entered judgment for the Bittles on their adverse possession claim with respect to the land expressly cited in their complaint. However, the court declined to rule on whether the Bittles had adversely possessed parcel 4 because the Bittles had not formally amended their complaint to include such a claim. The court also entered judgment for the Bittles on CAM-Colorado's trespass counterclaim and requests for an injunction and an easement of necessity. Finally, the court declined to rule on whether the three roads crossing the Bittles' land were public roads because the court deter[69]*69mined that Mesa County was an indispensable party required to be joined in the litigation of that issue.

18 The Bittles filed a C.R.C.P. 59(a) motion to amend the judgment to conform to the evidence presented at trial, pursuant to C.R.C.P. 15(b). The court denied the motion because, based on its recollection of the evidence, the parcel 4 issue was not a focus of the Bittles' case.

T9 CAM-Colorado appeals the court's determinations that Mesa County was an indispensable party and that CAM-Colorado was not entitled to an easement of necessity across the Bittles' land. The Bittles eross-appeal the court's order denying their C.R.C.P. 59(a) motion.

II. County as Indispensable Party

{ 10 CAM-Colorado contends that the district court erred in determining that Mesa County was an indispensable party that must be joined before it could determine whether the three roads on the Bittles' property were public roads. We disagree.

[ 11 The district court made the following: determinations as to the indispensable party issue:

Finally, I agree with Plaintiffs that I cannot decide whether 18.5 Road, L Road and L 4 Road are publicly dedicated rights of way across Plaintiffs' property or whether the county has abandoned them because the county is a necessary party to this determination. It is not true, as Defendant contends, that a public road may be abandoned only by complying with § 43-2-308, C.R.S. Board of County Commissioners v. Kobobel, 74 P.3d 401, 406-407 (Colo.App.2002). ... Colorado also recognizes common law abandonment. Id. at 407. It seems patently obvious that the county is an indispensable party to decide whether it has abandoned the roads in question. Without the county's presence, complete relief cannot be accorded between Plaintiffs and Defendant, Rule 19(a), C.R.C. P., because the county would not be bound by whatever decision I made. Ross v. Old Republic Insurance Company, 134 P.3d 505, 510 (Colo.App.2006), affirmed in part and reversed in part on other grounds, 180 P.3d 427 (Colo.2008). Thus, I conclude that the county is an indispensable party on this issue, see Dunav[a]nt v. Johnson, 565 So.2d 198 (Ala.1990) (county held indispensable party to boundary dispute involving alleged abandonment of public road), and decline to decide it in the county's absence.

112 We may not overturn a district court's resolution of an indispensable party issue unless it reflects a clear abuse of discretion. Hicks v. Joondeph, 232 P.3d 248, 252 (Colo.App.2009). Whether a party is characterized as indispensable-and must therefore be joined-is a mixed question of law and fact and depends on the facts and context of each case. Id.; I.M.A., Inc. v. Rocky Mountain Airways, Inc., 713 P.2d 882, 890 (Colo.1986); Kobobel, 74 P.3d at 408.

{13 CRCP. 19(a) provides, in relevant part:

Persons to be Joined if Feasible. A person who is properly subject to service of process in the action shall be joined as a party in the action if: (1) In his absence complete relief cannot be accorded among those already parties....

114 In Woodco v. Lindahl, 152 Colo. 49, 54-55, 380 P.2d 234, 238 (1968), the supreme court stated the test for indispensability:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2012 COA 93, 318 P.3d 65, 2012 WL 2045802, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 921, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bittle-v-cam-colorado-llc-coloctapp-2012.