Venegas v. Luby

164 P.2d 584, 49 N.M. 381
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 22, 1945
DocketNo. 4900.
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 164 P.2d 584 (Venegas v. Luby) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Venegas v. Luby, 164 P.2d 584, 49 N.M. 381 (N.M. 1945).

Opinion

SADLER, Justice.

The defendant below, Luby, seeks by review on appeal to reverse a decree of the trial court denying the existence of an easement for irrigation purposes on a certain tract of plaintiff’s land for the benefit of defendant’s land adjoining it on the west and enjoining the latter from maintaining irrigation ditches across the plaintiff’s land. In this suit one Charles A. Keeling and wife, Reba W. Keeling, also were joined as defendants but unless otherwise indicated any reference to a party as defendant hereinafter will intend Luby only.

The defendant as appellant in this Court devotes most of his argument to the claim that the trial Court erred in denying his motion to set aside the decree entered and grant his written request to make specific findings of fact and conclusions of law, claiming the decree was entered without notice to him. The plaintiff defends the trial Court’s action at considerable length, but being uncertain what view this Court will take of the matter, each party enters into a discussion of the merits. It seems that following close of the trial, the Court dictated to the court reporter certain tentative findings of fact and conclusions of law which within a few days were transcribed and a copy furnished counsel for each side. The Court viewed the premises involved in the presence of counsel for each side on the same day the tentative findings were dictated. These findings were not filed so as to become a part of the record proper and the decree itself contains only two general findings.

Accounts of what transpired between the Court and counsel following making of the tentative findings and a view of the premises vary widely as related by counsel and it would be- difficult to reconcile their divergent recollections of events. Happily, we are spared the necessity of doing so by a stipulation in open Court at oral argument of this appeal to the effect that the tentative findings which, according to plaintiff’s counsel, after a view of the premises the Court announced would be final, may be taken and treated as the findings of the Court for purposes of this appeal.

The two tracts of land mentioned in the foregoing paragraph were both originally parts of what is known as the Menaul farm consisting of a single tract and op-erated by the Menaul family as a unit. It was subsequently divided into five contiguous portions, as follows:

Tract 1-A, situated at the westerly end of the farm and consisting of ten acres, now owned by the defendant;

Tract 1-B-l, adjoining Tract 1-A on the east and consisting of four acres, now owned by the defendant;

Tract 1-B-2-A-1, adjoining Tract 1-B-l on the east and consisting of one acre, now owned by the defendant;

Tract 1-B-2-A-2, adjoining Tract 1 — B-2-A-l on the east and consisting of five and one-quarter acres, now in the process of being purchased under installment-contract by the plaintiff from defendant Keeling1;

Tract 2, situated east of the irrigation di'tch on the easterly side of plaintiff’s land, now retained as the Menaul homestead and in which we have no interest in this action whatever.

The present controversy involves primarily the two tracts designated above as “Tract 1-B-2-A-1” and “Tract l-B-2A-2”, the former owned by the defendant and the latter in the course of purchase by the plaintiff. All of the foregoing tracts except Tract 2 are so designated on a plat prepared by Engineer Edmund Ross and used in evidence at the trial. The description of the several tracts hereinabove locates Tract 2 with reference to all of the other tracts.

The two tracts, 1-B-2-A-1 and l-B-2A-2, are portions of what was originally a single orchard. The east side of the latter tract owned by the plaintiff is bordered by a large lateral ditch supplying water from which two smaller ditches run in a westerly direction — one along the northerly side of the orchard and the other along its southerly side. , The large lateral has been in existence and in its present location since 1879 and the two smaller ditches supplied by it and running westerly along the north and south sides of the orchard have afforded irrigation to the orchard from some date prior to 1916. They have always been used for such purpose and were so being used at the time of the trial.

The defendant purchased the ten-acre tract, described on the plat as 1-A, from William and Edith Menaul on February 20, 1940, the grantors at the time retaining the entire balance of the property. Later in the same year and on November 14, 1940, the defendant purchased from the same grantors the four-acre tract described on the plat as 1-B-l, the grantors again retaining the entire balance of the property, consisting now, however, apart from the homestead, only of tracts 1-B-2-A-1 and 1-B-2-A-2 — the orchard.

Thereafter and on August 2, 1941, William and Edith Menaul transferred the homestead and the orchard to their daughters, Rebecca Jane and Mary Elizabeth Menaul, following which the two daughters entered into a contract with the defendant, Keeling, for the purchase by him of the two tracts composing the orchard — ■, 1-B-2-A-1 and 1-B-2-A-2. The Keeling’s contract as to Tract 1-B-2-A-1 was subsequently assigned to the defendant, Luby, who took title thereto from Rebecca Jane and Mary Elizabeth Menaul on December 7, 1942. Rounding out the transfers and placing the parties in the positions occupied at the time this controversy arose, the plaintiff’s contract of September 15, 1943, with the Keelings for the purchase of Tract 1-B-2-A-2, is here mentioned.

The findings and conclusions of the trial judge which, under the stipulation of counsel, are to govern us in passing upon this appeal, read as follows:

“I am going to make tentative ruling and statement of findings of fact and conclusions of law at this time which will be subj ect to change after a view of the property, or if there is any authority I run into which would change my opinion as to the law on this case.

“So far as the facts are concerned, we have four pieces of property more or less immediately connected with this case here known as Tract 1B(A),1B1, 1B2A1 and 1B2A2. All this land at one time was under the supervision and domination of the Menaul family. At the time they owned the entire acreage there was a lateral ditch containing a substantial flow of water directly adjacent to the east side of Tract 1B2A2 and a lateral between Tracts 1B and 1B1, which wasn’t as large a lateral as the one on the east, heretofore referred to, which the testimony here shows is capable of irrigating from thirty to forty acres of land. That at the time the Men-auls owned this entire acreage there was a small lateral running from the north and south lateral on the east which ran from the east lateral to somewhere in Tract 1B2A1 and there was a small furrow on the outside of Tract 1B2A2 which was occasionally used for irrigation. purposes. That the Menauls first conveyed Tract IB consisting of approximately ten acres to defendant, W. J. Luby. At that time there was no consideration of water rights, it apparently being conceded that Tract IB could be adequately irrigated from the north and south lateral between Tracts IB and 1B1.

“At a later date in November, 1940 the Menauls conveyed Tract 1B1 of approximately four acres to W.

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Bluebook (online)
164 P.2d 584, 49 N.M. 381, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/venegas-v-luby-nm-1945.