Leeks Canyon Ranch, LLC v. Callahan River Ranch, LLC

2014 WY 62, 327 P.3d 732, 2014 WL 1912591, 2014 Wyo. LEXIS 67
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedMay 14, 2014
DocketNo. S-13-0173
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 2014 WY 62 (Leeks Canyon Ranch, LLC v. Callahan River Ranch, LLC) 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
Leeks Canyon Ranch, LLC v. Callahan River Ranch, LLC, 2014 WY 62, 327 P.3d 732, 2014 WL 1912591, 2014 Wyo. LEXIS 67 (Wyo. 2014).

Opinion

FOX, Justice.

[T1] The Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch was divided by a complicated series of conveyances between entities controlled by a brother and sister, two grandchildren of the original owner, who were unable to agree on the validity of language purporting to reserve or convey an easement from the sister's property across the brother's property. Brother (and the related entities he controls) sought quiet title and injunctive relief, asserting that the requirements for finding an express or implied easement had not been met; sister (and her husband and the related entities they control) filed a counterclaim asserting the existence of a valid easement. The district court found that the parties failed to sufficiently describe the easement as required by Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 34-1-141, and that the express casement was therefore void. Additionally, the district court found that because the parties specifically contemplated an easement, but failed to effectuate their intent, an implied easement was inappropriate. We reverse.

ISSUES

[12] We restate the issues as follows:

1. Did the grantor reserve part of the disputed easement when it conveyed parcels in 19927
2. Is the casement language in the deeds specific enough to locate the easement in accordance with Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 34-1-1417
3. Is the easement appurtenant to the land or in gross?
4. Did the grantor convey an easement across Parcel 25 when it conveyed Parcel 19 to Elizabeth Lockhart in 1998?

FACTS

[13] Robert Bruce Porter owned the Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch (the Ranch) in Teton County, Wyoming. The Ranch was conveyed to the Robert Bruce Porter Trust (the Trust) in accordance with his Last Will and Testament. Robert Gill and Elizabeth Lockhart are the grandchildren of Robert Bruce Porter.1 In 1992, the Trust divided the property into thirty-five acre parcels in order to preserve development options for the Ranch. The Trust retained one in four parcels and conveyed the remainder to three limited liability companies (Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch, LLC (JHHR), Roliz, LLC (Roliz), and C.C.N.P., LLC (CCNP) (collectively the LLCs)), forming a checkerboard pattern in order to prevent any two entities from owning contiguous thirty-five acre parcels. Following the 1992 conveyances, ownership of the parcels at issue was distributed as follows:

Parcel 19-Trust;
Parcel 20-JHHR;
Parcel 24-CCNP;
Parcel 25-Trust; and
Parcel 27-Roliz.2

The conveyances of Parcels 20, 24, and 27 from the Trust to the LLCs contained the following language:

Together with and subject to all easements of record and sight, and a non-exclusive 60.0 foot road and utility easement through parts of Sections [12, 18, and 24] in a location to be determined but to generally [736]*736follow the existing roads to Shootin' Iron County Road 22-20.

[14] In 1998, the Trust conveyed Parcel 19 to Elizabeth Lockhart (1998 conveyance). The deed included easement language mirroring that of the 1992 conveyances:

Together with and subject to all easements of record and sight, and a non-exclusive 60.0 foot road and utility easement through parts of Sections 12, 18, and 24 in a location to be determined but to generally follow the existing roads to Shootin' Iron County Road 22-20.

The Lockharts constructed a residence on Parcel 19 in 2001.

[15] While the Ranch was owned by Robert Bruce Porter, a number of roads crossed the Ranch to access various portions of the property.3 The parties conceded at oral argument, however, that there is only one route from Parcel 19 to the Shootin' Iron Road, subject to the easement language contained in both the 1992 and the 1998 conveyances. That route was used throughout the time that the Trust and the LLCs owned the property, and the Lockharts continued to use the road, without interference, to access their residence after they acquired Parcel 19 in 1998. However, a conflict arose after an arbitration divided the Ranch between the siblings.

[16] In accordance with the Last Will and Testament of Robert Bruce Porter, Elizabeth Lockhart and Robert Gill were each to receive an equal portion of the Ranch property upon the dissolution of the Trust. To achieve this result, Lockhart and Gill participated in an arbitration proceeding. At the conclusion of the arbitration, Lockhart received the northern part of the lower ranch while Gill received the southern part. Parcel 19 is located in the northern part of the lower ranch granted to Lockhart; however, the road leading to Parcel 19 from Shootin' Iron County Road 22-20 traverses the southern part of the lower ranch conveyed to Gill.

[17] Following the arbitration, the parties' relationship deteriorated. Soon, the Gills began objecting to the Lockharts' use of the road to Parcel 19. The local sheriff was called on at least one occasion, and the Gills instituted the current action to quiet title in their property, alleging that there exists no valid easement from Parcel 19 to Shootin' Iron County Road 22-20.

[18] The Gills filed their Complaint to Quiet Title and for Injunctive Relief on September 29, 2011. The Lockharts answered and filed a counterclaim alleging that a valid easement does exist, and making a number of claims for relief relating to the easement. Following discovery, the Gills filed a motion for summary judgment. The Lockharts responded and contended they were entitled to either an express or an implied easement. The district court held a hearing on April 11, 2018, and issued an order on July 8, 2013. A final judgment was entered on July 24, 2018.

[19] The district court initially determined that the doctrine of implied easements did not apply. The district court based its decision on this Court's language in Hansuld v. Lariat Diesel Corp., 2003 WY 165, 81 P.3d 215 (Wyo.2008) ("Hansuld I"), where we stated:

The doctrine of implied easements was created for courts to examine the particular facts suggesting the intent of the parties to a conveyance and determine if the parties omitted granting an easement reasonably necessary for the use and enjoyment of the property. The implied easement does not arise where the parties to the conveyance expressly agree otherwise or where proof of its elements is not established.

Id. at ¶ 16, 81 P.3d at 218-19 (internal quotes and citations omitted). The district court interpreted this passage to mean that if the parties attempt to convey an express easement and fail, implying an easement would be inappropriate. The district court stated:

[T]his is not an instance in which the parties had not bothered to create an easement in the conveyance of a property or [737]*737had no conscious intention to do so. Instead, this is a case where an easement was specifically contemplated; the parties simply never followed through on determining the precise location of the easement. Because the deeds that created the parcels at issue provided for the creation of an easement, it would be inappropriate to apply the doctrine of implied easement to this case.

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Bluebook (online)
2014 WY 62, 327 P.3d 732, 2014 WL 1912591, 2014 Wyo. LEXIS 67, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leeks-canyon-ranch-llc-v-callahan-river-ranch-llc-wyo-2014.