Broadwater Development, L.L.C. v. Nelson

• Decision Date: 24 September 2009
• Docket Number: No. DA 08-0587.,DA 08-0587.
• Citation: 352 Mont. 401,2009 MT 317,219 P.3d 492
• Parties: BROADWATER DEVELOPMENT, L.L.C., and Lewis and Clark County, Plaintiffs and Appellees, v. Stephanie J. NELSON, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

219 P.3d 492

2009 MT 317

352 Mont. 401

BROADWATER DEVELOPMENT, L.L.C., and Lewis and Clark County, Plaintiffs and Appellees, v. Stephanie J. NELSON, Defendant and Appellant.

No. DA 08-0587.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs July 8, 2009.

Decided September 24, 2009.

For Appellant: Colleen M. Dowdall, Worden Thane P.C., Missoula, Montana.

For Appellee, Broadwater Development L.L.C.: Amos Rogers Little, III, Attorney at Law, Helena, Montana.

For Appellee, Lewis and Clark County: Leo J. Gallagher, Lewis and Clark County Attorney, K. Paul Stahl, Jeff Sealey, Deputy County Attorneys, Helena, Montana.

Justice JAMES C. NELSON delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 Broadwater Development, LLC filed a Petition for Declaratory Judgment in the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, on December 4, 2007, seeking declaratory rulings that an alleged 60-foot emergency public access and utility easement over the property of Stephanie J. Nelson is valid and enforceable against Nelson and that a Notice of Invalid Easement filed in the Lewis and Clark County Clerk and Recorder's Office is invalid and of no legal effect. Nelson answered the petition and denied Broadwater Development's allegations. Thereafter, Lewis and Clark County intervened in the litigation in order "to protect its interest" in the alleged easement. The District Court ultimately granted summary judgment in favor of Broadwater Development and the County, determining that the alleged 60-foot easement is a valid and enforceable express easement and that the Notice of Invalid Easement is itself invalid. Nelson now appeals. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 The properties at issue in this case are located west of Helena, Montana, on the north side of U.S. Highway 12. The westernmost property is owned by Frank and Bonita Gruber, who in 2002 began the process of subdividing this land to create the Broadwater Estates Major Subdivision. To the north and east of the subdivision, but not part of the subdivision, is a parcel (the "Gruber parcel") which the Grubers owned in 2002 and then sold to Michael and Gaylynn Wagner in 2003. Finally, the easternmost property (the "State Nursery property") was owned by State Nursery & Seed Company until 2003 and is now owned by Nelson.

¶ 3 Piecing together two surveys of the area provided in the record, the properties are situated as follows:

NOTE: OPINION CONTAINING TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE

¶ 4 In July 2002, the County granted preliminary approval for the creation of the Broadwater Estates Major Subdivision (consisting of 60 lots). The preliminary approval was subject to 25 conditions that had to be met before the subdivision could receive final approval. Of relevance here, County regulations required the subdivision to have two ingress/egress routes meeting County road standards. Because only one such route existed (Old Broadwater Lane, which runs from Highway 12 through the proposed subdivision in a northerly direction), the Grubers proposed to create a second route connecting to the highway through land located north and east of the subdivision. Specifically, the route would begin at the existing terminus of Old Broadwater Lane, cross the Gruber parcel, enter the adjoining State Nursery property and connect with the existing State Nursery access road, and then end at the highway. The County agreed with this proposal and included the following condition in the preliminary approval:

The Applicant shall construct a secondary access road, 20-feet wide with 6-inches of all-weather surfacing . . ., from Old Broadwater Lane to connect to the existing State Nursery access road. A 60-foot wide public access easement shall be placed along the secondary access road from the end of Old Broadwater Lane, across the Applicant's property, along the existing access road to the State Nursery, and along the existing State Nursery access road to its intersection with U.S. Highway 12 West. The Applicant shall present legal documentation that has been filed with the County Clerk and Recorders Office verifying the creation of the easement.

¶ 5 On July 30 and 31, 2003, the Grubers and Dean Mills (President of State Nursery) executed a document which purported to create the required easement. This document, filed with the Lewis and Clark County Clerk and Recorder on July 31, 2003, and numbered 3046859, is at the center of the present litigation. It was prepared by a licensed land surveyor and is titled:

60' EMERGENCY PUBLIC ACCESS & UTILITY EASEMENT FOR: BROADWATER ESTATES MAJOR SUBDIVISION

The document contains a depiction of the easement, which is labeled "60' Emergency Public Access & Utility Ease." From west to east, the easement is shown beginning at an "Existing 60' Easement," crossing property identified as being owned by the Grubers followed by property identified as being owned by State Nursery, and terminating at Highway 12. The easement is also described in metes and bounds. There is a space titled "Certificate of Surveyor," which is signed by Stephen J. Ries and dated July 30, 2003. There is also a "Certificate of Land Owners," which states: "We the undersigned property owners, hereby create this 60 foot emergency public access and utility easement; as shown by this exhibit." The document is signed by Dean Mills, Frank Gruber, and Bonita Gruber, each of whom is specifically identified as an "Owner." It is also signed by the CEO of Mountain West Bank, N.A. In addition, a signature block for Syngenta Seeds, Inc. is included but is not signed. We shall refer to this document, a copy of which is attached as an appendix to this Opinion, as the "Easement Agreement."¹

¶ 6 As noted, Nelson now owns the State Nursery property. She obtained this property through the following series of events. Between 1999 and 2001, State Nursery executed several promissory notes which were held by Mountain West Bank and secured by mortgages on the State Nursery property. On July 23, 2003, Mountain West initiated a foreclosure action against State Nursery naming several individuals and entities as defendants, including Syngenta Seeds. Syngenta was named because it held a mortgage on the State Nursery property, and Mountain West alleged that Syngenta's mortgage was subordinate to Mountain West's mortgages. The District Court ordered foreclosure in December 2003; Mountain West purchased the State Nursery property at public auction in March 2004; Syngenta exercised its right of redemption in April 2005; and Syngenta assigned to Nelson its right to receive the Sheriff's Deed in June 2005. On July 7, 2005, Mike Nelson (acting as property manager for Syngenta) recorded a document titled "Notice of Invalid Easement," in which he asserted that the Easement Agreement was "invalid due in part by a lack of vital signatures and a blatant disregard for the largest lien holder of the property in question." Finally, the Sheriff's Deed conveying the State Nursery property to Stephanie Nelson was executed July 11 and recorded July 22, 2005.

¶ 7 Meanwhile, immediately after signing the Easement Agreement on July 31, 2003, the Grubers conveyed the Gruber parcel to the Wagners. The following month, the Grubers granted Broadwater Development (owned by Michael Wagner at the time) an exclusive right to develop, improve, and sell parcels of the Broadwater Estates Major Subdivision. According to the parties' agreement, Broadwater Development was to complete certain infrastructure development by a specified date and the Grubers were to provide signed warranty deeds to each parcel, when properly created, for transfer of title to the ultimate purchaser at closing. Michael Wagner died in October 2005, and Gaylynn Wagner (as personal representative of his estate) sold Broadwater Development to Joseph Mueller in October 2006. As part of the purchase agreement, Mueller agreed that Broadwater Development would remain obligated to perform the agreements related to the development of Broadwater Estates Major Subdivision.

¶ 8 One such agreement was a Subdivision Improvements Agreement executed by Broadwater Development, the Grubers, and the County on July 11, 2006, in conjunction with the final subdivision plat approval. Among other things, Broadwater Development and the Grubers agreed within a specified timeframe to construct the secondary access road from Old Broadwater Lane to the existing State Nursery access road. At this point, Gaylynn Wagner owned the Gruber parcel and Nelson owed the State Nursery property. Broadwater Development proceeded with construction of the road from the terminus of Old Broadwater Lane over the Gruber parcel. But Nelson refused to permit construction of the road across the State Nursery property, and she refused to remove encroachments within the easement. In addition, her husband apparently threatened to file charges if the road builder entered the State Nursery property. Consequently, Broadwater Development commenced the instant action against Nelson in order to establish the validity of the easement, and the County later intervened, as noted, in order "to protect its interest" in the easement. In addition, the County extended Broadwater Development's deadline for completing the mandates of the Subdivision Improvements Agreement.

¶ 9 The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Their briefing focused on whether the Easement Agreement validly created the 60-foot easement. Broadwater Development and the County argued that the document met all of the formal requirements for granting an express easement. Furthermore, the County argued that the easement was an easement in gross held by the public and, as such, did not have a dominant tenement (i.e., did not benefit a particular parcel of land), though the County also asserted that the residents of Broadwater Estates in particular were "entitled to the benefit of the easement to ensure their health and safety in case of an emergency."

¶ 10 In Nelson's view,...