Davis v. Peacock, 24463.

• Decision Date: 09 December 1999
• Docket Number: No. 24463.,24463.
• Citation: 133 Idaho 637,991 P.2d 362
• Parties: Raymond C. DAVIS and Marybel Davis, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. Arnold PEACOCK, a single man, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

991 P.2d 362

133 Idaho 637

Raymond C. DAVIS and Marybel Davis, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. Arnold PEACOCK, a single man, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 24463.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Boise, September 1999 Term.

December 9, 1999.

Arnold Peacock, pro se, Post Falls, for appellant.

Scott W. Reed, Coeur d'Alene, for respondents.

TROUT, Chief Justice.

This case involves an appeal from an order for summary judgment granting Raymond and Marybel Davis (Davises) an easement across land owned by Arnold Peacock (Peacock). Peacock argues that the trial court incorrectly applied the law to this case and therefore summary judgment in favor of the Davises was improper. Because we believe that the law was correctly applied and that summary judgment was proper, we affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The Davises are owners of real property situated in Kootenai County. Peacock owns property located to the north of the Davis property. Both of these properties were originally part of one parcel (Ford's Addition) owned by Thomas and Nellie Russell. Ford's Addition was bordered to the west by Idaho Street which has been open during all periods relevant to this case.

The first house constructed in Ford's Addition was built in 1907 and was occupied until at least 1941. The only access to that house was upon a private road from Idaho Street eastward along the edge of a platted but undeveloped street (Grove Street) to the house. It is this private road that is the subject of the current dispute. In 1941, the Russells sold the northern portion of Ford's Addition including what is now the Peacock property. In this deed the Russells expressly reserved "all rights to Grave (sic) Street along the south side of Blocks 9 and 10." The reason for this reservation was to protect access to the Russell house, since the existing road access was thought to be on Grove Street, although a later survey showed that the road was actually north of Grove Street. In 1959, Nellie Russell sold the remaining portion of Ford's Addition to the McCrays. In 1969, the Davises purchased the property from the McCrays.

Throughout the entire period from 1941 to 1970, the private road in dispute was the only means of usable access from Idaho Street into the residence and other outbuildings located on the property now owned by the Davises. In 1970, the Davises constructed a private driveway from Idaho Street generally along the south side of their property. This driveway now provides an alternate access route to the residence located on the Davis property. From 1971 to the present, the sole access to Peacock's property has been from Maple Street which borders his property to the north.

From 1969 until the road was blocked in 1995 by Peacock, the Davises had made open, continuous, notorious and uninterrupted use under claim of right to the entire road. Additionally, at the time Peacock acquired his property in 1986, the road was visible and in use. Peacock also received a Disclosure Statement from his seller which disclosed the existence of the road and described it as providing access to a neighbor's property, and stated that the road was not disclosed on the record.

Beginning in May of 1995 and continuing until the complaint was filed, Peacock caused physical obstruction of the road by having rocks and debris piled upon the road so that it was not possible for the Davises or anyone else to drive a motor vehicle upon the road. On November 15, 1995, the Davises filed a complaint, seeking an injunction and damages. In September 1997, Peacock filed a motion for summary judgment. The Davises then filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. Following briefing and a hearing, the trial court entered an order granting the Davises' motion for summary judgment, finding that there was no genuine issue of material fact and that the Davises were therefore entitled to an implied easement by prior use and a prescriptive easement. Peacock now appeals, arguing that the district court incorrectly found an implied easement by prior use. Additionally, Peacock argues that the district court erred in holding that the Davises had established a prescriptive easement because the use of the disputed road was always with the permission of the owners of the road.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Where, as here, the parties have filed cross-motions for summary judgment relying on the same facts, issues and theories, the parties effectively stipulate that there is no genuine issue of material fact which would preclude the district court from entering summary judgment. Brown v. Perkins, 129 Idaho 189, 191, 923 P.2d 434, 436 (1996); Morrissey v. Haley, 124 Idaho 870, 872, 865 P.2d 961, 963 (1993). Additionally, as the trier of fact, the district court is entitled to arrive at the most probable inferences based upon the undisputed evidence properly before it and grant the summary judgment, despite the possibility of conflicting inferences. Brown, 129 Idaho at 191, 923 P.2d at 436; Loomis v. Hailey, 119 Idaho 434, 437, 807 P.2d 1272, 1275 (1991). The test for reviewing the inferences drawn by the district court is whether the record reasonably supports the inferences. Walker v. Hollinger, 132 Idaho 172, 176, 968 P.2d 661, 665 (1998); Riverside Development Co. v. Ritchie, 103 Idaho 515, 518-19, 650 P.2d 657, 660-61 (1982). However, this Court freely reviews the question of whether the facts found, or stipulated to, are sufficient to satisfy the legal requirements for the existence of an implied easement or a prescriptive easement. Walker, 132 Idaho at 176, 968 P.2d at 665.

III. DISCUSSION

A. The District Court's Grant of Summary Judgment Constitutes a Final Judgment Subject to Review by this Court.

Before moving to the issue of whether the Davises have an easement over Peacock's property, we must first decide whether the summary judgment in this case constituted a final judgment subject to review by this Court. Under Idaho Appellate Rule 11, only final judgments from the district court are appealable. Therefore, a summary judgment resolving less than all of the claims involved in the case is interlocutory and not appealable unless certified pursuant to Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure 54(b). See Kifer v. School Dist. No. 394, 100 Idaho 411, 599 P.2d 302 (1979). In this case, Peacock filed an amended answer and counterclaim which the Davises sought to have dismissed in their motion for summary judgment. However, in reviewing the district court's order entering judgment against Peacock, it does not appear that the district court ever expressly dismissed or ruled on Peacock's counterclaim. Therefore, there is a question as to whether the judgment entered by the district court is truly final and appealable.

Although the district court did not expressly dismiss or otherwise rule on Peacock's counterclaim, the summary judgment entered is still final and appealable because there are no claims left to be resolved with respect to that counterclaim. The general rule is that if an order or judgment ends the suit, adjudicates the subject matter of the controversy, and represents a final determination of the rights of the parties, the instrument constitutes a final judgment. See Walker v. Shoshone County, 112 Idaho 991, 993, 739 P.2d 290, 292 (1987); Idah-Best, Inc. v. First Security Bank, N.A., 99 Idaho 517, 519, 584 P.2d 1242, 1244 (1978). Therefore, Peacock's counterclaim must be examined to see if it raises any issues which are not resolved by the grant of summary judgment in favor of the Davises.

In his counterclaim, most of Peacock's allegations can be grouped into two categories: (1) those statements which relate to his defense to the Davises' claim of an easement and which are resolved by the judgment entered by the district court; and (2) those statements which relate to a claim of fraud against the Davises in their damage claim which is now moot because the Davises dropped their claim for damages in their motion for summary judgment. The remaining statements allege, at best, a claim that the Davises' lawsuit is frivolous. Obviously, the grant of summary judgment in favor of the Davises resolves the issue of the frivolousness of their suit. Consequently, the grant of summary judgment represents the final determination of the rights of the parties and is therefore final and appealable.

B. The Davises Have Established an Implied Easement By Prior Use Over Peacock's Land.

Peacock argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to the Davises on the issue of the implied easement on four grounds. First, Peacock argues that because the Davises are successors to the original grantors of the servient property, they cannot claim an implied easement. Second, Peacock argues that no implied easement was established because, at the time of severance, the use of the disputed road was not strictly necessary. Third, Peacock argues that even if the road was necessary at the time of severance, it is no longer necessary and therefore any easement in existence is extinguished. Finally, Peacock argues that even if an implied easement exists, he is not subject to that easement because the easement was not recorded in his chain of title.

i. As Successors in Interest to the Original Grantors, the Davises Can Claim an Implied Easement.

Peacock argues that, as successors in interest to the original grantors of the servient estate, the Davises cannot claim an implied easement by prior use. He argues that courts will not find an implied easement by prior use in favor of the grantor on the theory that the failure of the grantor to expressly reserve the easement in the deed raises a presumption that the grantor did not intend to preserve the easement after severance. Peacock fails, however, to cite to any Idaho cases which have recognized this distinction between implied easements in favor of grantors and grantees. In fact, the only Idaho appellate case mentioning this distinction is...