Edgcomb v. Lower Valley Power and Light, Inc.
| Decision Date | 07 August 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-218,95-218 |
| Citation | 922 P.2d 850 |
| Parties | L. Richard EDGCOMB and Carolyn D. Edgcomb, Appellants (Defendants), v. LOWER VALLEY POWER AND LIGHT, INC., Appellee (Plaintiff). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Gerald Mason of Mason & Graham, P.C., Pinedale, on oral argument; Paul K. Knight and Sara E. Van Genderen of Mullikin, Larson & Swift, LLC, Jackson, on brief, for Appellant.
Marilyn S. Kite, Stephen R. Duerr, and Paula A. Fleck of Holland & Hart, Jackson, for Appellee.
Before TAYLOR, C.J., and THOMAS, MACY and GOLDEN, * JJ., and SULLINS, District Judge.
The claim of error is that genuine issues of material fact prevented the entry of summary judgment by the district court in favor of Lower Valley Power and Light, Inc. (Lower Valley) and against Jeffrey Wanamaker (Wanamaker), the prior owner of land sold to L. Richard and Carolyn D. Edgcomb (Edgcombs). Lower Valley, pursuant to grant of an easement from Wanamaker's predecessors in interest, operated an electric transmission line over the subject land from 1956 until 1992. In 1992, after obtaining the requisite authority to add a fiber optics cable for communications transmission, Lower Valley advised Wanamaker it needed to enter his property to replace the existing static line with the fiber optics cable. Wanamaker denied access, asserting there was no valid easement, and the existing transmission line constituted a trespass and nuisance. Lower Valley then commenced this action seeking a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, ejectment, and damages for trespass against Wanamaker, who responded with an answer incorporating various counterclaims. The Edgcombs, as successors to the lawsuit as well as the land, appeal from the summary judgment in favor of Lower Valley. They assert genuine issues of material fact as to the intended scope, dimensions, and location of the easement; the impact of electromagnetic fields; and the existence of a nuisance. They also argue the legal invalidity of the easement pursuant to WYO. STAT. § 34-1-141 (1981) 1. We hold none of the claimed genuine issues of fact are material in this case, and we affirm the summary judgment entered in the trial court.
In their Brief of Appellant, the Edgcombs state the issues as:
1. Whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Appellee Lower Valley Power and Light Inc. in finding that Appellee has a floating easement on Appellant Jeffrey Wanamaker's property because there exist genuine issues of material fact as to the intended scope, dimensions, and location of the easement granted to Appellee in 1954.
2. Whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Appellee Lower Valley Power and Light, Inc. on Appellant Jeffrey Wanamaker's counterclaim for trespass because there exist genuine issues of material fact as to the physical dimensions of the easement and as to whether the electromagnetic fields emitted from the transmission line traversing Appellant's property have an actual effect or impact on the property.
3. Whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Appellee Lower Valley Power and Light, Inc. on Appellant Jeffrey Wanamaker's counterclaim for nuisance because there exist genuine issues of material fact as to whether the electromagnetic fields emitted from the transmission line traversing Appellant's property are inherently harmful and unreasonably interfere with the use and enjoyment of the property.
Lower Valley states the issues differently in its Brief of Appellees:
A. Does LVPL have a valid easement for an electrical transmission line, with a fiber optic cable, across all of Appellants' property?
B. Can, as a matter of law, operation of the electrical transmission line on such easement constitute a trespass on Appellants' property?
C. Can, as a matter of law, operation of the electrical transmission line on such easement constitute a nuisance?
D. Are Appellants' claims of trespass and nuisance barred by the statute of limitations?
In 1954, Louis and Helen Z. Dopyera (Dopyeras) granted an easement across their land to Lower Valley for the purpose of an electrification or telephone transmission line. The agreement between the Dopyeras and Lower Valley provides, in part, as follows:
Distribution and
Transmission Line
Louis Dopyera and Helen Z. Dopyera * * * do hereby grant unto LOWER VALLEY POWER AND LIGHT, INC., * * * and to its successors or assigns, the perpetual right to enter upon the lands of the undersigned, situated in the County of Teton, State of Wyoming and more particularly described as follows:
A tract of land approximately 709.37
--------
acres in area, located ______ miles in
__________ a direction from the Town of
_______________ and further described
16
as being in Section 5 - 8 - 17 - 21
---------------
28 - 29 2
and to construct, reconstruct, rephase, repair, operate and maintain on the above-described lands and/or in or upon all streets, roads or highways abutting said lands, an electric transmission and/or distribution line or system, to cut and trim trees and shrubbery located within _________ feet of the center line of said line or system, or that may interfere with or threaten to endanger the operation and maintenance of said line or system, and to license, permit, or otherwise agree to the joint use or occupancy of the line or system by any other person, association or corporation for electrification or telephone purposes.
In 1979, Wanamaker acquired the servient tenement, subject to the easement owned by Lower Valley.
Construction of a 69 KV transmission line was begun in 1954 and was completed in 1956 in its current location. The line delivers power to Jackson Hole Valley through the Snake River Canyon. As constructed, the line traversed seven sections of the land originally owned by the Dopyeras. In 1974, Lower Valley proposed to upgrade the capacity of the transmission line from 69 KV to 115 KV. A notice was published regarding this proposed change. The Public Service Commission (PSC) received no public comment about it, and no objections were received at a public meeting held to discuss it. In 1975, the line was reconstructed as a 115 KV line along the same path as the old line. Over the years from 1956, Lower Valley had entered the property to maintain the line without obtaining prior approval from Wanamaker or his predecessors.
In 1992, Lower Valley decided to replace the existing static telephone line with a fiber optics cable. Lower Valley then entered into an agreement with Silver Star Telephone Company (Silver Star) as a financial participant in the purchase and installation of a fiber optics cable along the existing transmission line. An application was made to the PSC for authority to construct a major utility facility consisting of the fiber optics cable. The PSC issued its order authorizing the fiber optics cable after finding Lower Valley and Silver Star had "demonstrated an immediate and critical need for this facility, which will benefit both utilities and their customers."
When Lower Valley advised Wanamaker it planned to enter his property to replace the static line with the fiber optics cable, Wanamaker denied access to the easement, asserting Lower Valley had no valid easement across the property, and the transmission line was a trespass and nuisance. Lower Valley then filed this action, seeking a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, ejectment, and damages for trespass against Wanamaker. Wanamaker answered and filed numerous counterclaims. After a battery of motions had been filed by both sides, Lower Valley filed its second motion for summary judgment supported by a brief.
Following the submission of briefs, affidavits, and exhibits by the parties, and a hearing on the motion, the trial court granted Lower Valley's second motion for summary judgment, concluding Lower Valley's easement extended throughout Wanamaker's property; Lower Valley had a floating easement and, with it as a matter of law, went the right to use and affect Wanamaker's property adjacent to the line as long as that use is within the scope of the easement; Wanamaker did not have an exclusive possessory interest so no trespass existed; nor was there any actual effect on the property, which also nullifies a claim of trespass; the presence and operation of the transmission line was authorized and, as a matter of law, there was no nuisance; and the operation and maintenance of the line did not interfere with Wanamaker's use of his property, and diminution in value of the property alone does not constitute a nuisance. Wanamaker appealed from that order and, after the Edgcombs purchased the property in 1995, subject to the easement, they continued to pursue this appeal.
Edgcombs first assert genuine issues of material fact exist relating to the intended scope, dimensions, and location of the easement granted to Lower Valley in 1954. The Edgcombs contend the trial court failed to apply basic rules of contract interpretation in not construing ambiguities as they exist in the easement against Lower Valley. In Steil v. Smith, 901 P.2d 395, 396 (Wyo.1995), we stated the rules concerning construction of an easement:
The applicable standard of review is that we derive the meaning of an easement from its language, much as we would in the case of a deed or other written agreement. Tibbets v. P & M Petroleum Co., 744 P.2d 651, 652-53 (Wyo.1987); and see 25 AM. JUR .2d Easements and Licenses § 75 (1966). If the language of the easement is not ambiguous and if the intent of the parties can be gathered from its language, that should be done as a matter of law. Glover v. Giraldo, 824 P.2d 552, 554 (Wyo.1992); and see Smith v. Nugget Exploration, Inc....
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