Faber v. Raty
| Docket Number | DA 21-0360 |
| Decision Date | 28 November 2023 |
| Parties | ELGIN FABER and COLLEEN FABER, Plaintiffs, Appellants, and Cross-Appellees, v. KEITH RATY, COLLEEN RATY, et al, Defendants, Appellees, and Cross-Appellants. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
For Appellants:
Michael F. McGuinness, Patten, Peterman, Bekkedahl & Green, PLLC, Billings, Montana
For Appellees:
Gregory J. Hatley, Davis, Hatley, Haffeman & Tighe, P.C., Great Falls, Montana
¶1 Plaintiffs Elgin and Colleen Faber ("the Fabers") appeal the Hill County District Court's Amended Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgment granting prescriptive easements over two roadways to Defendants Keith and Colleen Raty ("the Ratys"). The Ratys cross-appeal the District Court's Judgment regarding the scope of the easements. We reframe the parties' issues on appeal and address:
¶2 We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for modification of the Amended Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgment consistent with this opinion.[1]
¶3 This case involves the creation of two prescriptive easements in favor of the Ratys over two roads crossing property owned by the Fabers. The Ratys own two parcels of land known as the Upper Setty Ranch and Lower Setty Ranch (collectively, "the Ranches"). The Lower Setty Ranch is located northeast of the Upper Setty Ranch. Both parcels were originally homesteaded by Ova and Lacrettia Setty in the early 1900s. In 1948, the properties were purchased together by Colleen Raty's grandfather, Steve Boyce. Colleen Raty's father, Bud Boyce, purchased both properties from his father in 1963. The Ratys bought the Lower Setty Ranch and part of the Upper Setty Ranch in 1997, before purchasing the rest of the Upper Setty Ranch in 2004. The Settys, Boyces, and Ratys have ranched and resided on both properties periodically for nearly a century. The Lower Setty Ranch now serves as the headquarters of the Ratys' cattle operation.
¶4 The Faber Property was purchased by Nicholas Faber in 1892. Paul and Alvina Faber acquired the Property in 1948. James Faber acquired the Property in 1993 and conveyed it to the James Faber Living Trust ("the Trust"). Elgin and Colleen Faber succeeded in interest to the Faber Property in 2012.
¶5 Beginning in 1997, the Ratys acquired permits to graze cattle each fall in an area known as Beaver Creek Park. Beaver Creek Park is located southwest of the Lower Setty Ranch. The Upper Setty Ranch, the Lower Setty Ranch, and Beaver Creek Park are each separated by multiple properties which are owned and operated by other parties. The Faber Property sits between all three parcels of land used by the Ratys for cattle grazing. Defendant's Trial Exhibit No. 501, a stipulated map of the subject properties, is included for reference on the following page.
(Image Omitted)
¶6 From 1997 to 2012, the Ratys leased two tracts of the Faber Property from the Trust for the purpose of cattle grazing in three successive agreements ("the Leases"). The Leases divided the defined portions of the Faber Property that the Ratys were leasing into the "primary summer grazing lease" ("Tract 1") and a "supplemental fall grazing lease" ("Tract 2"). All three of the Leases required the Ratys to "use good stewardship practices to avoid damaging the land" and the latter two noted the "[g]razing history puts the stocking rate at 85 to 100 pair." The Ratys moved their cattle to Tract 2 each fall after the Fabers had put up their hay. The Ratys removed the cattle from the Faber Property in approximately December of each year.
¶7 The portions of the Faber Property leased to the Ratys encompass three roads: (1) Sucker Creek Road; (2) Olson Road; and (3) Quarter Gulch Road. Sucker Creek Road enters the Faber Property from the east. Olson Road diverges from Sucker Creek Road on the Faber Property, runs north to south from the divergent point, and exits the Faber Property to the south. Olson Road then runs through State land and other private properties before entering the Upper Setty Ranch. Quarter Gulch Road diverges from Olson Road on the Faber Property and runs generally east to west, before exiting the Faber Property to the west.
¶8 While the portions of the Faber Property leased to the Ratys encompass the disputed roads at issue, the Leases themselves contain only two references to any road. The 1997 lease states:
The lessee is given the right to regulate hunting use due to the presence of cattle and weather conditions on said grazing lands. All hunter motorized traffic shall be restricted to the main road.
All of the Leases state:
This lease is subject to all easements, restrictions, reservations of record and all the easement rights of way apparent from a visual examination of the premises.
¶9 The 1997 lease called for a rate based on the number of grazing cow-calf pairs and single animals. The lease specified the parties were to agree annually on an amount of money per cow-calf pair or single animal. The lease further stated, "[t]he lessee agrees to use the area only for surface grazing." The 2002 lease abandoned the cash-per-cow payment method in favor of a flat rate. Keith Raty explained at trial that the parties transitioned to the flat rate because
¶10 The Fabers acquired the Faber Property from the Trust in September 2012, approximately three months prior to the expiration of the third and final lease. The dispute between the Ratys and the Fabers arises from the Ratys' use of: (1) Olson Road as they move cattle between Upper Setty Ranch and Lower Setty Ranch; and (2) Quarter Gulch Road as they move cattle between Lower Setty Ranch and Beaver Creek Park.
¶11 The Ratys and their predecessors have used Olson Road to trail cattle between the Ranches since the homestead days. When Bud Boyce moved his residence onto Lower Setty Ranch to assist with his father's cattle operation in 1955, this use had already been established. In the 1970s, Bud moved his residence from the Lower Setty Ranch to a separate property he owned nearby. When he moved, Bud hired someone to live on the Lower Setty Ranch to assist with cattle operations by, among other things, trailing cattle between the Ranches. In 1982, Bud moved his residence back to the Lower Setty Ranch and continued to use Olson Road to move cattle between the Ranches. Between Bud's 1963 purchase of the ranches and the 1997 sale to the Ratys, this process of trailing cattle between the Ranches on Olson Road occurred each spring and multiple autumns. The use continued throughout the existence of the Leases.
¶12 Neither the Ratys nor their predecessors used Quarter Gulch Road prior to 1997. Beginning in 1997, the Ratys used Quarter Gulch Road to trail cattle both from Lower Setty Ranch to Beaver Creek Park and from Tract 1 to Tract 2 each autumn. The portion of Quarter Gulch Road used by the Ratys is predominately, if not entirely, within Tract 2. Keith Raty testified that the Ratys typically moved 400 to 500 cow-calf pairs to Beaver Creek Park through Tract 2 using Quarter Gulch Road in addition to grazing cattle pursuant to the Leases, far higher than the historic stocking rate of 85 to 100 pairs. The Fabers did not give the Ratys permission to trail cattle between the Lower Setty Ranch and Beaver Creek Park using Quarter Gulch Road each fall.
¶13 The 2007 lease extension ended by its own terms in 2012. On January 7, 2016, the Fabers commenced the quiet title action underlying this appeal. After a two-day bench trial, the District Court issued its Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Judgment. It determined the Ratys have a prescriptive easement to use Olson Road to cross the Faber Property. The District Court determined the Ratys' right to use Olson Road pursuant to the prescriptive easement included access to agricultural, recreational, and residential activities on the Upper Setty Ranch consistent with historical uses. After the Ratys moved the District Court to amend its judgment and clarify the scope of their prescriptive rights, the court clarified these activities included trailing up to 300 cow-calf pairs between the Ranches along Olson Road, as opposed to just 200 pairs. Further, the District Court concluded the Ratys established a prescriptive easement to use Quarter Gulch Road to trail approximately 400 to 500 cow-calf pairs across the Faber Property between the Lower Setty Ranch and Beaver Creek Park. Both easements were limited in width to approximately thirty feet in each direction from the center line of the roads.
¶14 "When a district court sits without a jury, we review the court's findings of fact for clear error and its conclusions of law for correctness." Truss Works Inc. v. Oswood Construction Co., 2022 MT 42, ¶7 408 Mont. 27, 504 P.3d 1116 (citation omitted). "A finding of fact may be clearly erroneous if it is not supported by substantial evidence in the record; if the district...
To continue reading
Request your trial