Watson v. Dundas
| Decision Date | 09 May 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-534.,02-534. |
| Citation | 136 P.3d 973,332 Mont. 164,2006 MT 104 |
| Parties | Nancy E. WATSON, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. George and Margo DUNDAS, George William and Grace Berberet, Broadwater County Board of County Commissioners, and the Montana Department of State Lands, Defendants and Respondents. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
Thomas M. White, Sedivy, White & White, P.C., Bozeman, for Appellant.
Thomas E. Towe, Towe, Ball, Enright, Mackey & Sommerfeld, PLLP, Billings, for Respondents George and Margo Dundas.
John T. Flynn, Broadwater County Attorney, Townsend, for Respondent Broadwater County Board of County Commissioners.
Tommy H. Butler, Special Assistant Attorney General, Helena, for Respondent Montana Department of State Lands.
¶ 1 Nancy Watson (Watson) appeals from a decision of the Eighteenth Judicial District Court, Gallatin County, in an action by Watson to gain access to her property across the lands of George and Margo Dundas (Dundases). We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.
¶ 2 We consider the following issues on appeal:
¶ 3 Whether the District Court properly granted summary judgment in favor of the Dundases regarding Watson's claim to an easement by grant.
¶ 4 Whether the District Court properly granted summary judgment in favor of the Dundases regarding Watson's claim to an easement by necessity.
¶ 5 Whether the District Court held Watson to the correct burden of proof on her claim that the Lower Road constitutes a public right of way?
¶ 6 Whether the District Court properly granted summary judgment on Counts VI-XIII, by considering the Dundases' counterclaim for damages, and by entering judgment awarding damages to the Dundases?
¶ 7 The Dundases sold the northeast quarter of Section 34, T5N, R3E, Gallatin County, to their son, Roger Dundas, and Watson, his wife at the time, in 1983. The Dundas's land surrounds the parcel that they conveyed to their son and then-daughter-in-law on the east, west, and north. The Dundases own Sections 15, 22, 23, 26, 27, 35 and the northwest quarter of Section 34. See attached map. Another private landowner holds the land to the south of this parcel and no outlet exists across this private land that would have provided Roger or Watson access to a public road. The only apparent access to a public road then, and now, exists across the property owned by the Dundases.
¶ 8 Watson and Roger purchased the land from the Dundases for $40,000. They could not afford to pay the purchase price in cash, so they financed the purchase of the property through a loan from the Farmer's Home Administration (FHA). The FHA required that Roger and Watson acquire an easement to access the property before FHA would approve the loan in light of the fact that they could not access their property without traveling across the Dundas's remaining lands.
¶ 9 Roger requested that his parents provide an easement to access the property. The Dundases represented to the FHA that they granted a permanent easement to Roger and Watson to facilitate the loan. The FHA approved the loan with the easement provided by the Dundases. George Dundas testified that they did not execute the Grant of Easement and Right-of-Way document until 1986, however, because their attorney did not complete the paper work in a timely manner.
¶ 10 The recitals portion of the grant stated that it meant to provide Watson and Roger Dundas with a "permanent easement and right-of-way over and across the undersigned's remaining lands for purposes of egress and ingress." The grant portion of the document stated that it granted a "permanent easement and right-of-way over and across Section 27 ... along the historic road now traversing Section 27 and historically used for ingress and egress to the lands above described in Section 34."
¶ 11 The granted easement permits Watson to follow an old road, known as the Lower Road, that runs north and slightly west from Watson's land across Section 27. The road also crosses Section 22, however, another portion of land owned by the Dundases. See attached map. It then crosses over Section 21 to the west, owned by George William ("Bill") and Grace Berberet (Berberets). The road proceeds to the northwest into Section 16, owned by the State of Montana, then turns west into Section 17 and intersects with Sixmile Road, a county road. Watson and Roger accessed their property along this road from the time of purchase in 1983 through 1994.
¶ 12 Watson and Roger Dundas entered into a property settlement agreement in 1993 as part of their dissolution. The property settlement agreement for their divorce provided that Watson would obtain full title to the land purchased from the Dundases. George Dundas sent a letter to Watson in February of 1994 to inform her for the first time that the granted easement permitted her to cross only Section 27. Dundas further informed Watson, "I hereby give you permission to cross section 22 but this permission is limited to you only."
¶ 13 Watson filed suit to enforce the terms of the easement in May 1994. She contended that the easement granted her the right to cross both Section 22 and Section 27.1 The District Court issued a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction permitting Watson to cross Sections 22 and 27 during the litigation. The Dundases filed a counterclaim on August 14, 1995, alleging, inter alia, that Watson damaged their crops planted in Section 22 by driving over them. The parties filed various motions for summary judgment after conducting substantial discovery.
¶ 14 The District Court granted the Dundases' motion for summary judgment relating to Count IV (Easement by Necessity) and to Count V (Grant Easement) on August 11, 2000. The parties entered into a stipulation on October 26, 2001, permitting the District Court to decide Counts I (public road Montana law) and II (public road federal law) on the basis of the depositions, affidavits, and exhibits filed with the court. The District Court issued a judgment relating to Counts I and II on April 4, 2002, finding that no public right of way or easement existed over Sections 16 and 21.
¶ 15 In its August 2000 order and a separate April 4, 2002, order, the District Court dismissed Count III (prescriptive easement) in accordance with a concession by Watson and granted summary judgment to the Dundases on Counts VI-XIII (declaratory judgment and various tort based claims). The District Court issued findings of fact and conclusions of law on June 18, 2002, after a bench trial on the Dundases counterclaim, ruling in part that Watson owed $4,200 to the Dundases for damages to their crops. Watson appeals the judgments in favor of the Dundases, the Berberets, the State, and Broadwater County.
¶ 16 This Court reviews a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Farmers Union Mut. Ins. Co. v. Staples, 2004 MT 108, ¶ 18, 321 Mont. 99, ¶ 18, 90 P.3d 381, ¶ 18. We apply the criteria contained in Rule 56, M.R.Civ.P. Staples, ¶ 18. According to this rule, the moving party must establish both the absence of a genuine issue of material fact and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Grimsrud v. Hagel, 2005 MT 194, ¶ 14, 328 Mont. 142, ¶ 14, 119 P.3d 47, ¶ 14. The burden then shifts to the non-moving party to prove, by more than mere denial and speculation, that a genuine issue does exist. Grimsrud, ¶ 14. If the court determines that no genuine issues of fact exist, the court must then determine whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Grimsrud, ¶ 14. We review legal determinations made by a district court to establish whether the conclusions are correct. Grimsrud, ¶ 14.
¶ 17 We review a district court's findings of fact to determine if they are clearly erroneous. Ramsey v. Yellowstone Neurosurgical Assocs., 2005 MT 317, ¶ 13, 329 Mont. 489, ¶ 13, 125 P.3d 1091, ¶ 13. We use a three part test when determining whether a district court's findings are clearly erroneous: 1) whether the findings are supported by substantial evidence in the record; 2) whether the trial court has misapprehended the effect of evidence; and 3) if substantial evidence exists and the effect of the evidence has not been misapprehended, the Court may still determine that the trial court's findings are clearly erroneous when, although evidence supports it, a review of the record leaves this Court with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. Ramsey, ¶ 13. We review a district court's conclusions of law for correctness. Galassi v. Lincoln County Bd. of Com'rs, 2003 MT 319, ¶ 7, 318 Mont. 288, ¶ 7, 80 P.3d 84, ¶ 7.
¶ 18 The District Court granted summary judgment to the Dundases that the easement granted to Watson applied only to Section 27. The court found that the more specific language of the grant portion of the document trumped the recital's more general language. See Section 1-4-103, MCA.
¶ 19 The recitals portion of the easement document provides that the Dundases sought to grant to Roger and Watson a "permanent easement and right-of-way over and across the [Dundases's] remaining lands for purposes of egress and ingress to the said northeast quarter of Section 34." (Emphasis added.) The language in the grant portion of the document, however, appears to limit the easement to "the historic road now traversing Section 27 and historically used for ingress and egress" to the parcel owned by Roger and Watson. The grant easement does not specifically mention Section 22.
¶ 20 General principles of contract law apply in interpreting an easement by grant. Mularoni v. Bing, 2001 MT 215, ¶ 32, 306 Mont. 405, ¶ 32, 34 P.3d 497, ¶ 32. A grant should be interpreted in favor of the grantee....
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