Richard Q. Navarro v. Antonio Oros-Garcia

CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedMay 6, 2026
DocketS-25-0234
StatusPublished

This text of Richard Q. Navarro v. Antonio Oros-Garcia (Richard Q. Navarro v. Antonio Oros-Garcia) 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
Richard Q. Navarro v. Antonio Oros-Garcia, (Wyo. 2026).

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT, STATE OF WYOMING

2026 WY 52

APRIL TERM, A.D. 2026

May 6, 2026

RICHARD Q. NAVARRO,

Appellant (Plaintiff),

v. S-25-0234

ANTONIO OROS-GARCIA,

Appellee (Defendant).

Appeal from the District Court of Laramie County The Honorable Robin S. Cooley, Judge

Representing Appellant: Bernard Q. Phelan, Phelan Law Offices, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee: No appearance.

Before BOOMGAARDEN, C.J., and GRAY, FENN, JAROSH, and HILL, JJ.

NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in Pacific Reporter Third. Readers are requested to notify the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Supreme Court Building, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, of any typographical or other formal errors so that correction may be made before final publication in the permanent volume. GRAY, Justice.

[¶1] Richard Q. Navarro filed a complaint against Antonio Oros-Garcia seeking partition of two vehicles they own as joint tenants with right of survivorship. The district court concluded it could not partition personal property and sua sponte dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim under W.R.C.P. 12(b)(6). We reverse and remand.

ISSUES

[¶2] The dispositive issues are:

1. Did the district court err in dismissing Mr. Navarro’s complaint under W.R.C.P. 12(b)(6)?

2. Does the district court have subject matter jurisdiction over Mr. Navarro’s partition complaint?

FACTS

[¶3] Mr. Navarro and his son-in-law, Mr. Oros-Garcia, own two vehicles—a 2011 Dodge RAM pickup truck and a 2017 Dodge Challenger—as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. To finance the purchase of the vehicles, they obtained loans totaling $93,683.25. Although they purchased the vehicles so Mr. Oros-Garcia would have transportation for work, Mr. Navarro made all payments on the loans until they were repaid. Mr. Oros-Garcia made no payments.

[¶4] Sometime prior to September 2024, Mr. Oros-Garcia became a fugitive from justice and could not be located. Because the vehicles were jointly owned, Mr. Navarro could not sell the vehicles or otherwise transfer their titles. Eventually, Mr. Navarro filed a complaint against Mr. Oros-Garcia seeking partition of the two vehicles. He sought a declaration that he was the “sole owner of the vehicle[s] [so he could] sell or otherwise deal [with] the vehicle[s] without interference from [Mr. Oros-Garcia] and that the interest of [Mr. Oros- Garcia], if any, be determined and set aside in trust for his benefit, if any[.]” Mr. Navarro served the complaint on Mr. Oros-Garcia by publication.

[¶5] Mr. Oros-Garcia did not answer the complaint or file a responsive pleading. Mr. Navarro moved for and was granted entry of default by the Clerk of the District Court. Mr. Navarro then filed an application for entry of default judgment with the district court. The district court did not enter default judgment but instead issued a sua sponte order directing Mr. Navarro “to submit [within 30 days] a third-party valuation of the vehicles in question so that the Court may ensure that it has jurisdiction to hear the case.” When Mr. Navarro failed to supply the requested valuation, the district court issued a second order requiring the valuation to be submitted within 20 days. It stated such valuation “is essential to the

1 Court’s determination as to its jurisdiction to hear the case.” Mr. Navarro did not respond to that order, and the district court issued a third order directing him to file the third-party valuation within 20 days or the matter would be dismissed. The court reiterated the valuation was “essential to the Court’s determination as to its jurisdiction to hear the case.”

[¶6] Mr. Navarro responded to the district court’s third order with a memorandum of law on the jurisdiction of a district court to order partition. He maintained the district court had jurisdiction over his complaint because he was seeking the equitable remedy of partition of personal property, not monetary damages. In the alternative, Mr. Navarro submitted an affidavit outlining the facts relating to the purchase of the vehicles. He averred “[t]he total purchase price of the vehicles as financed equals over $93,683.00. This is the amount in controversy in this case as I have no way to sell or insure the vehicles as presently titled.” He also provided J.D. Power retail value estimates showing the combined value of the vehicles was over $30,000.

[¶7] The district court noted that despite Mr. Navarro filing a memorandum of law and an affidavit, he did not provide the court with the third-party valuation of the vehicles that it had requested on three separate occasions. The court then “[a]ssum[ed] for argument’s sake that all of what [Mr. Navarro] assert[ed] in his memorandum and affidavit [was] true and correct” but found “there [was] a significant issue that he cannot overcome: Wyoming’s partition statutes govern partition of real and not personal property.” See Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 1-32-101 through -122. On its own motion, the district court determined that Mr. Navarro failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and dismissed the complaint under W.R.C.P. 12(b)(6). The basis of the district court’s ruling was the fact that vehicles are not real property. The court found Mr. Navarro was “not entirely without relief in this scenario” as he could file a replevin action under Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 1-15- 301 through -306, but it observed that Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-15-302(a)(vi) requires an affidavit outlining the “actual value of the property.” The court stated this requirement “seems to suggest that [the actual value of the property] is determinative of whether the matter should be filed in circuit court versus district court.” 1

1 This Court has adopted the federal approach to sua sponte dismissals under W.R.C.P. 12(b)(6). That approach requires the district court to follow a five-step process: (1) allow service of the complaint upon the defendant; (2) notify all parties of [the court’s] intent to dismiss the complaint; (3) give the plaintiff a chance to either amend his complaint or respond to the reasons stated by the district court in its notice of intended sua sponte dismissal; (4) give the defendant a chance to respond or file an answer or motions; and (5) if the claim is dismissed, state [the court’s] reasons for the dismissal. Jenkins v. Miller, 2008 WY 45, ¶ 21, 180 P.3d 925, 932–33 (Wyo. 2008) (quoting Osborn v. Emporium Videos, 848 P.2d 237, 241–42 (Wyo. 1993)). Here, the district court notified Mr. Navarro of its intent to dismiss the complaint, but the notification identified the basis for dismissal as his failure to provide the requested third-party valuation of the vehicles. The court did not notify him that the complaint failed to state a claim, as it was for the partition of personal property. As a result, Mr. Navarro did not have an

2 [¶8] Mr. Navarro timely appealed. Mr. Oros-Garcia has not filed a responsive brief or otherwise participated in this appeal.

DISCUSSION

I. Did the district court err in dismissing Mr. Navarro’s complaint under W.R.C.P. 12(b)(6)?

[¶9] Mr. Navarro argues the district court erred when it dismissed his complaint for failure to state a claim because, even in the absence of a statute, personal property may be partitioned. We agree.

[¶10] Our standard of review of W.R.C.P. 12(b)(6) dismissals is as follows:

We review Rule 12(b)(6) dismissals de novo. Peterson v. Laramie City Council, 2024 WY 23, ¶ 9, 543 P.3d 922, 926 (Wyo. 2024).

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Richard Q. Navarro v. Antonio Oros-Garcia, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/richard-q-navarro-v-antonio-oros-garcia-wyo-2026.