Hansuld v. Lariat Diesel Corp.

• Decision Date: 09 December 2010
• Docket Number: Nos. S-09-0206, S-09-0207.,s. S-09-0206, S-09-0207.
• Citation: 2010 WY 160,245 P.3d 293
• Parties: William S. HANSULD and Tia J. Hansuld, Appellants (Plaintiffs), v. LARIAT DIESEL CORPORATION, and Marvin Piel, Appellees (Defendants). Lariat Diesel Corporation, and Marvin Piel, Appellants (Defendants), v. William S. Hansuld and Tia J. Hansuld, Appellees (Plaintiffs).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

245 P.3d 293

2010 WY 160

William S. HANSULD and Tia J. Hansuld, Appellants (Plaintiffs),

v.LARIAT DIESEL CORPORATION, and Marvin Piel, Appellees (Defendants).

Lariat Diesel Corporation, and Marvin Piel, Appellants (Defendants),

v.William S. Hansuld and Tia J. Hansuld, Appellees (Plaintiffs).

Nos. S-09-0206, S-09-0207.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

Dec. 9, 2010.

Representing William S. Hansuld and Tia J. Hansuld: Larry W. Harrington of Harrington Law Firm, P.C., Casper, Wyoming.

Representing Lariat Diesel Corporation and Marvin Piel: Thomas M. Hogan, Casper, Wyoming.

Before KITE, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, VOIGT,^* and BURKE, JJ.

GOLDEN, Justice.

[¶ 1] In these consolidated appeals, two adjoining landowners dispute two separate easements. In appeal No. S-09-0206, the Hansulds appeal a district court finding that they do not have an easement for a water line across the property of Lariat Diesel Corporation. We reverse.

[¶ 2] In appeal No. S-09-0207, Lariat Diesel Corporation and its president, Marvin Piel, appeal a district court's ruling declining to require a precise description in metes and bounds of the location of an access easement across the Hansulds' property. We reverse.

FACTS

[¶ 3] We begin with the facts because both appeals share common facts. This is the second time these parties have been before this Court. See Hansuld v. Lariat Diesel Corp., 2003 WY 165, ¶ 13, 81 P.3d 215, 218 (Wyo.2003) ( Hansuld I ). In Hansuld I, this Court related the following facts:

Originally, Chapin and Ratcliff, LLC (LLC) owned both 3100 East Yellowstone and 3110 East Yellowstone, Natrona County,Wyoming. In 1995, LLC owner, Hardy Ratcliff, approached Lariat owner Marvin Piel (Piel) with the thought of selling Lariat both properties located at 3100 and 3110 East Yellowstone. Lariat was interested in 3100 East Yellowstone only and did not require the other lot.

The parties agreed that if Lariat would purchase 3100 East Yellowstone, Lariat would be allowed access over the 3110 East Yellowstone lot for its truck access. Access across 3110 East Yellowstone was key to Lariat's business located at 3100 East Yellowstone. Without it, Lariat could not get heavy trucks in and out of its shop without great difficulty. On July 2, 1995, the LLC sold 3100 East Yellowstone to Lariat.

A little over a year later, on August 5, 1996, the LLC and Gary L. Petley (Petley) entered into a Purchase Agreement concerning the property adjoining Lariat, 3110 East Yellowstone. American Title Company issued a title commitment for the property on August 19, 1996.

Some days before the closing date of the sale of 3110 East Yellowstone to Petley, the LLC proposed at a meeting with Lariat that it would give Lariat a formal written ingress and egress easement for customers crossing 3110 East Yellowstone in exchange for Lariat's giving the LLC a sewer "easement" across the Lariat property for the sewer line servicing the adjoining property at 3110 East Yellowstone. Mr. Petley was invited to this meeting because this "reciprocal easement" arrangement would both burden and benefit 3110 East Yellowstone and his proposed purchase. No other consideration was exchanged. Petley understood the arrangement and had no problems with it.

After the meeting and before the closing on 3110 East Yellowstone, the LLC executed and filed an "Access Agreement" that contained a legal description granting egress and ingress over the southerly 100 feet of 3110 East Yellowstone. The Natrona County Clerk filed the "Sewer Easement" at 4:00 p.m. and the "Access Agreement" at 4:02 p.m. on August 30, 1996. Also on that same day, the Petley purchase of 3110 East Yellowstone closed, and the warranty deed was filed with the Natrona County Clerk at 10:41 a.m. The title policy that issued a few days after the closing included the recorded access agreement in the policy for informational purposes.

Petley sold 3110 Yellowstone to Wildcat Whackers on June 25, 1999. Later, Wildcat Whackers listed it for sale with a realtor who noticed the access agreement and consulted an attorney. In the course of soliciting Lariat to buy the property, the realtor indicated to it that the realtor believed the easement was void because it was outside of the chain of title. Lariat summarily rejected the offer to purchase and told the realtor that it believed the easement was valid and enforceable. That same realtor advised Hansulds of the easement, and Hansulds purchased the property on October 31, 2001.

Immediately after purchasing the property at 3110 East Yellowstone, Hansulds notified Lariat that any future access across 3110 East Yellowstone would be denied. Hansulds then constructed a chain link fence along the property line between 3110 and 3100 East Yellowstone and along the East Yellowstone frontage to insure that Lariat had no access across 3110 East Yellowstone. Hansulds filed suit to quiet title and sought a declaratory judgment on the validity of the access agreement. Summary judgment motions were denied, and the case proceeded to a bench trial.

After suit was filed, East Yellowstone Highway, the access road to both parties' property, was straightened, resulting in the abandonment of a portion of the right-of-way by the State of Wyoming. The "Resolution for Abandonment" was filed with the county clerk on September 20, 2001. Wildcat Whackers conveyed the abandoned property to Hansulds by quitclaim deed. The land acquired by Hansulds is approximately forty feet wide and lies between Hansulds' southern boundary and Yellowstone Highway.

The district court found that the abandonment added property to the southerly parts of both Hansulds' and Lariat's properties.

The district court determined that the LLC intended to convey an easement for access to the 3100 property and held that an implied easement existed.

Hansuld I, ¶¶ 4-12, 81 P.3d at 217-18.

[¶ 4] The Hansulds appealed the finding of the existence of an implied access easement. While the appeal was pending, Lariat filed a motion to show cause why the Hansulds should not be held in contempt for not allowing adequate ingress and egress along the implied access easement to its property. The district court held an evidentiary hearing on the motion and, on March 3, 2003, issued its decision letter determining the Hansulds were not in contempt because they had established a passageway sufficient to accommodate the semi-tractor trailers needing to travel to and from the Lariat property.

[¶ 5] The Hansuld I Court affirmed the district court decision finding an implied access easement. Since Hansuld I was decided, the parties have continued to feud. A water line crosses Lariat's property before reaching the Hansulds' property. A valve on Lariat's property controls the flow of water to the Hansulds' property. In January 2006, Piel turned off the Hansulds' water, claiming that no easement existed in favor of the Hansulds' property for the water line. The Hansulds brought the instant legal action, seeking, among other things, an injunction and a declaration that they had an implied water line easement across Lariat's property. Lariat counterclaimed seeking, among other things, declaratory relief for a precise legal description of the location and extent of its implied access easement. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment.

[¶ 6] After a hearing, the district court granted summary judgment to Lariat on the issue of the implied water line easement. The district court found there was no intent on the part of LLC, the common owner, to create an easement for the water line and that such an easement was not necessary because the Hansulds had ready access to the water main and could easily install their own water line.

[¶ 7] The district court granted summary judgment to the Hansulds on Lariat's request for clarification of the exact location of the access easement, deciding the claim was barred by collateral estoppel and res judicata in that the same issue and claim was before the district court in Hansuld I. The district court then certified its summary judgment rulings as immediately appealable pursuant to W.R.C.P 54(b).¹ The parties cross-appealed.

APPEAL NO. S-09-0206

ISSUES

[¶ 8] The Hansulds present the following issues for this Court's review:

I. Did the trial court err by finding that the water line crossing property at 3100 East Yellowstone is not necessary and beneficial to the enjoyment of Appellant's property at 3110 East Yellowstone?

II. Did the court err in finding that "certainly, the original owner was aware of the utilities and their location but never sought more than a sewer line and access to the sewer line, to fix and maintain?"

DISCUSSION

[¶ 9] This is an appeal from a summary judgment. We engage in a de novo review of summary judgments. Glenn v. Union Pacific R.R. Co., 2008 WY 16, ¶ 6, 176 P.3d 640, 642 (Wyo.2008). We use the same criteria and materials as the district court. Fayard v. Design Comm. of the Homestead Subdivision, 2010 WY 51, ¶ 9, 230 P.3d 299, 302 (Wyo.2010); McGarvey v. Key Prop. Mgmt., 2009 WY 84, ¶ 10, 211 P.3d 503, 506 (Wyo.2009). Summary judgment is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. W.R.C.P. 56(c);Metz Beverage Co. v. Wyoming Beverages, Inc., 2002 WY 21, ¶ 9, 39 P.3d 1051, 1055 (Wyo.2002).

[¶ 10] Wyoming will recognize an implied easement across another person's property under certain circumstances. Shirran v. Shirran, 987 P.2d 140, 142 (Wyo.1999); Beaudoin v. Kibbie, 905 P.2d 939, 941-42 (Wyo.1995); Corbett v. Whitney, 603 P.2d 1291, 1293-94 (Wyo.1979). Our goal in determining whether an easement exists by implication is to discern the intent of the parties:

The creation of easements by implication is an attempt to infer the intention of the parties to a conveyance of land. Gray v. Norwest Bank Wyoming, N.A., 984 P.2d 1088, 1091 (Wyo.1999). "This inference drawn from the circumstances surrounding the conveyance alone represents an attempt to

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