In Re Gallagher

2011 WY 112, 256 P.3d 522, 2011 WL 2905580
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 21, 2011
DocketS-10-0213
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2011 WY 112 (In Re Gallagher) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Gallagher, 2011 WY 112, 256 P.3d 522, 2011 WL 2905580 (Wyo. 2011).

Opinion

256 P.3d 522 (2011)
2011 WY 112

In the Matter of the Establishment of a Private Roadway to Real Property Owned by Daniel GALLAGHER.
J & T Properties, LLC, Appellant (Respondent),
v.
Daniel Gallagher, Appellee (Petitioner).

No. S-10-0213.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

July 21, 2011.

*523 Representing Appellant: R. Todd Ingram of Clapp, Ingram & Olheiser, P.C., Casper, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee: Keith R. Nachbar of Keith R. Nachbar, P.C., Casper, Wyoming.

Before KITE, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, VOIGT, and BURKE, JJ.

KITE, Chief Justice.

[¶ 1] The district court granted Daniel Gallagher a private road across land owned by J & T Properties, LLC (J & T). J & T appealed, arguing the private road did not meet the statutory requirements because it did not connect directly to a public road and the district court erred by not ordering Mr. Gallagher to reimburse J & T for the costs of an appraisal establishing the damages to its property from the private road.

[¶ 2] We affirm.

ISSUES

[¶ 3] J & T presents the following issues on appeal:

A. Did the district court err in failing to create a private road leading from Gallagher's land "to some convenient public road?"
B. Did the district court err in failing to award J & T costs incurred [in] obtaining and presenting its own "before and after" appraisal?

Mr. Gallagher restates the issues as:

1. Does the private roadway statute, Wyo. Stat. § 24-9-101, require joining neighboring landowners in the proceeding where the applicant already holds legal and record access to a public road across those neighboring lands?
2. Did the District Court below commit reversible error by declining to order the applicant to pay for the private commercial appraiser hired by the landowner?

J & T articulates several issues in its reply brief. However, just one complies with the requirements of W.R.A.P. 7.03, which allows a reply brief only when necessary to address new issues raised in the appellee's brief. The one issue meeting that requirement is whether J & T argued in the district court that the rules of civil procedure authorized reimbursement of the appraisal fees.

FACTS

[¶ 4] Mr. Gallagher purchased property in an industrial area of Natrona County, just west of J & T's property. When he purchased the property, he believed that a series of easements across properties to the east provided access to a nearby public road. However, Mr. Gallagher soon learned that he did not have an easement across J & T's property. Consequently, on July 17, 2008, he petitioned the Natrona County Board of County Commissioners for a private road across J & T's property.

[¶ 5] The county commissioners concluded that Mr. Gallagher has no legally enforceable access and certified the case to the district court.[1] The district court appointed *524 viewers and appraisers to locate a private road and place a value on the damage to the condemned property. The viewers and appraisers recommended condemning a private road along an existing roadway on J & T's property. The private road began at Mr. Gallagher's property line and continued east to the eastern boundary of J & T's property, where it connected with a series of private easements crossing the adjoining properties to a nearby public service road.

[¶ 6] The viewers and appraisers set the value of the damage to J & T's property from the private road at $1,000, without any evidentiary basis for that amount. J & T engaged a professional appraiser who performed a before-and-after analysis of the impact of the private road and concluded that the value of J & T's property was reduced by $8,200 as a result of the private road.

[¶ 7] After a hearing, the district court accepted the viewers and appraisers' recommendation as to the location of the road, but rejected their damages valuation and accepted J & T's. Although the district court awarded J & T the higher damage amount, it refused to award other expenses requested by J & T, including the cost of the appraisal. J & T appealed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 8] Resolution of this case requires us to interpret the relevant statutes and court rules. Because these determinations involve issues of law, our standard of review is de novo. Dorr v. Smith, Keller & Assoc., 2010 WY 120, ¶ 11, 238 P.3d 549, 552 (Wyo. 2010).

DISCUSSION

A. Private Road Statute

[¶ 9] J & T argues Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 24-9-101 (LexisNexis Supp. 2008) required that a private road directly connect the applicant's landlocked parcel to a public road and the district court violated the statute by condemning a private road which connected with a series of private easements to reach a public road. The gist of J & T's argument is that Mr. Gallagher should have joined, in the private road action, all of the owners of the land he traversed to reach a public road even though he already had private easements across their properties.

[¶ 10] The relevant portion of § 24-9-101[2] stated:

(a) Any person whose land has no outlet to, nor connection with a public road, may file an application in writing with the board of county commissioners in the county where his land is located for a private road leading from his land to some convenient public road.

(Emphasis added). This Court applies the following principles when interpreting statutory language:

Statutory interpretation is a question of law. Our paramount consideration is the legislature's intent as reflected in the plain and ordinary meaning of the words used in the statute. Initially, we determine whether the statute is clear or ambiguous.
A statute is clear and unambiguous if its wording is such that reasonable persons are able to agree on its meaning with consistency and predictability. Conversely, a statute is ambiguous if it is found to be vague or uncertain and subject to varying interpretations. If we determine that a statute is clear and unambiguous, we give effect to the plain language of the statute.
In interpreting a statute, we will not ignore other statutory provisions pertaining to the same subject but will, instead, consider all such provisions in pari materia.

Sorensen v. State Farm Auto. Ins. Co., 2010 WY 101, ¶ 13, 234 P.3d 1233, 1237 (Wyo. 2010), quoting Horse Creek Cons. Dist. v. State ex rel. Wyo. Attorney General, 2009 WY 143, ¶ 14, 221 P.3d 306, 312 (Wyo.2009) (citations omitted).

*525 [¶ 11] Section 24-9-101(a) allows a person to apply for a private road if he has no outlet to, nor connection with, a public road. We have interpreted this language as allowing a private road application when the petitioner does not have permanent, unrestricted, legally enforceable access to his property. See, e.g., Voss v. Albany County Comm'rs, 2003 WY 94, 74 P.3d 714 (Wyo.2003) (holding that personal and/or restricted easements do not satisfy the statute's "legally enforceable" access requirement). On the other hand, if the applicant has legally enforceable access, even via a private easement, he is not landlocked and is not entitled to a private road. See id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2011 WY 112, 256 P.3d 522, 2011 WL 2905580, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-gallagher-wyo-2011.