Sunnyside Valley Irr. Dist. v. Dickie

43 P.3d 1277
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedApril 16, 2002
Docket20249-6-III
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 43 P.3d 1277 (Sunnyside Valley Irr. Dist. v. Dickie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sunnyside Valley Irr. Dist. v. Dickie, 43 P.3d 1277 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

43 P.3d 1277 (2002)
111 Wash.App. 209

SUNNYSIDE VALLEY IRRIGATION DISTRICT, a quasi-municipal Corporation, Respondent,
v.
Dyke DICKIE and Jane Doe Dickie, husband and wife, Appellants.

No. 20249-6-III.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 3, Panel Two.

April 16, 2002.

*1279 John S. Moore, Jr., Brendan V. Monahan, Velikanje, Moore & Shore, Yakima, for Appellants.

Charles C. Flower, Patrick M. Andreotti, Flower & Andreotti, Yakima, for Respondent.

*1278 BROWN, C.J.

Appellant landowners, Dyke and Jane Doe Dickie, argue the trial court erred when (A) applying a right-of-way easement held by the Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District for the enlargement and maintenance of a long established irrigation lateral, and (B) entering a mandatory injunction requiring them to remove property from within the right-of-way. We adopt a rule followed elsewhere permitting parties to contract for an easement to take effect or be enjoyed in the future. Under our facts, the rule applied to permit the enlargement of both the lateral and the necessary adjacent maintenance area. We hold the trial court did not err in applying the easement or granting injunctive relief. Accordingly, we affirm.

FACTS

The Dickies own agricultural land in Yakima County subject to a 1912 easement in favor of the United States. The District administers the easement, which is at the center of this case. For consideration, the Dickies' predecessor in title partly granted, and the United States effectively reserved:

... the necessary right-of-way for the construction and maintenance of all canals, laterals, flumes, pipe lines and waste ditches of the Unites States of America, or said Irrigation Company [the District's predecessor], heretofore constructed or hereafter to be constructed over and across said described land for the irrigation of other lands, with the right and permission to enter upon said land, for the survey, location, *1280 construction, enlargement and repair of said canals, laterals, flumes, pipe lines and waste ditches, and to construct, maintain and repair the same by the United States of America, or the Irrigation Company, or the owner or owners of lower lands.

Clerk's Papers (CP) at 106.

Sometime between 1905 and 1923 the Matheson 2.68 lateral was built on the Dickies' property. The Matheson lateral system in its entirety serves over 1,000 acres; downstream from the Dickies' property it serves 65 acres and nine landowners. Part of the purpose of the easement was to provide irrigation for upstream and downstream properties.

In 1945, the District contracted with the United States to assume the maintenance of the irrigation system within the District's boundaries. In the 1950s, the upstream Roza irrigation system added substantial sediment into the Matheson lateral requiring increased maintenance. By the late 1970s and early 1980s the District took over the maintenance of the Matheson lateral and other laterals from volunteer districts, which formerly performed the maintenance duties most likely by hand. Then, the District began mechanized maintenance.

At times, the District used a mower, backhoe, or sloper/grader to maintain laterals. The District's mechanized equipment was necessary to remove the sediment or silt deposits from the lateral in order to maintain lateral capacity in aide of both upstream and downstream users. The deposits are referred to as spoil. Access to both sides of the lateral is necessary because spoil is placed in piles on the banks of the lateral and then leveled. While a mower and backhoe can be used for this purpose, a sloper/grader is more efficient because it cleans the lateral and levels the spoil deposits in a single operation.

The parties agree the lateral and the area initially used for maintaining the Matheson lateral have been enlarged. The course or centerline of the lateral is not an issue. The District's use of a sloper/grader to maintain the Matheson lateral has caused the top or slope of the lateral to widen. In 1989, Lyle Dickie, Mr. Dickies' father, objected to the continued use of a sloper/grader because of the widening effect. As a result, the District indicated it would use a mower and backhoe to maintain the Matheson lateral instead of a sloper. Mr. Dickie then agreed to remove one obstructing tree and bush from the bank of the lateral.

In the late 1990s, Mr. Dickie planted or replanted several orchard trees and installed sprinkler heads within 20 feet of the Matheson lateral's centerline. In 1999, Mr. Dickie complained to the District about damage to his sprinkler heads by a sloper during maintenance work. The District acknowledged its earlier backhoe decision, but asserted a 15-foot setback from the lateral bank was necessary for maintenance, and demanded Mr. Dickie to remove the obstructions. When Mr. Dickie refused, the District filed suit.

Following a three-day bench trial and a view of the property, the trial court decided the easement gave the District the right to enlarge the lateral. Applying the doctrine of "reasonable enjoyment," the trial court set 20 feet bilaterally from the lateral's centerline for the District's easement. The District was granted a mandatory injunction requiring the Dickies to remove any facilities interfering with the District's easement, including a few trees that were over 40 years old, and the Dickies were restrained from any future interference. After the Dickies' motion for reconsideration was denied, they filed this appeal.

ANALYSIS

A. Easement

The issue is whether the trial court erred in applying the 1912 easement and considering among the facts the District's present maintenance needs when establishing the 20-foot bilateral easement width from the lateral's centerline.

When findings of fact and conclusions of law are entered following a bench trial, appellate review is limited to determining whether the findings are supported by substantial evidence, and if so, whether the *1281 findings support the trial court's conclusions of law and judgment. Holland v. Boeing Co., 90 Wash.2d 384, 390-91, 583 P.2d 621 (1978). Evidence is substantial if it is sufficient to persuade a fair-minded person that the declared premise is true. Nguyen v. Dep't of Health, Med. Quality Assurance Comm'n, 144 Wash.2d 516, 536, 29 P.3d 689 (2001), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 122 S.Ct. 1203, ___ L.Ed.2d ___ (2002). As the challenging party, the Dickies bear the burden of showing that the findings are not supported by the record. Standing Rock Homeowner's Ass'n v. Misich, 106 Wash.App. 231, 243, 23 P.3d 520 (2001).

The 1912 easement was created by a specific grant. Both parties are bound by its terms. The grant does not define the exact location or width of the easement. The scope of an easement is established by the original grant. Brown v. Voss, 105 Wash.2d 366, 371, 715 P.2d 514 (1986); Zobrist v. Culp, 95 Wash.2d 556, 560, 627 P.2d 1308 (1981). A court's primary duty in construing an express easement is to ascertain and give effect to the parties' intent. Schwab v. City of Seattle, 64 Wash.App.

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Bluebook (online)
43 P.3d 1277, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sunnyside-valley-irr-dist-v-dickie-washctapp-2002.