Justia Wyoming Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Real Estate & Property Law
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In this case, the City of Laramie, Wyoming, sued the University of Wyoming and its Board of Trustees, challenging the drilling and operation of certain water wells. The city argued that the university was in violation of a 1965 deed covenant prohibiting the drilling of one of the wells and was also in violation of a city ordinance. The city also claimed that legislation exempting the university from this city ordinance was unconstitutional. The district court dismissed some of the city's claims and granted summary judgment in favor of the university on the remaining claims. The Supreme Court of Wyoming affirmed the lower court's decision. The court held that the university was protected by sovereign immunity from the city's attempts to enforce the deed covenant. It also held that the state law exempting the university from the city ordinance was constitutional. The court further noted that the law precluded the city from enforcing its ordinance against the university. View "City of Laramie, Wyoming v. University of Wyoming" on Justia Law

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In Wyoming, Darrell R. Turcato and Robbin D. Wilkins (Appellants) and Jan Frady and Larry Turcato (Petitioners) were beneficiaries of two trusts created by their parents. The Appellants sought to appeal the district court's decision that a warranty deed executed by the Trusts transferring property to them was invalid due to a defective acknowledgment. The property in question was a house, which was held 50% by the JT Trust and 50% by the VT Trust. The mother, Virginia Turcato, decided to transfer the house to the Appellants in recognition of their assistance. However, her signature was notarized outside her presence. After her death, the Petitioners sought a declaration that the transfer was invalid due to the defective acknowledgment. The district court determined that the Petitioners, as beneficiaries of the trusts, had an interest in the property when the deed was executed and therefore declared the warranty deed void against them.The Wyoming Supreme Court reversed the district court's decision. The Court held that a defective acknowledgment does not render a warranty deed void ab initio under Wyoming law. It found that when the parties signed the Warranty Deed, title immediately passed to Appellants, and that title was valid against all but certain parties. The Court also held that the Petitioners did not have an interest in the property at the time of the transfer and therefore had no standing to challenge the Warranty Deed. The Court concluded that the Warranty Deed is valid between the Trusts and the Appellants, and remanded the case to the district court for dismissal. View "Turcato v. Frady" on Justia Law

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In the State of Wyoming, the Supreme Court examined a dispute between Tony R. Testolin, Tim Karlberg, and Thirty-One Bar Ranch Company about the use of an access easement. The defendants (Testolin and Karlberg) owned an easement that passed over a portion of Thirty-One Bar's property. Thirty-One Bar challenged the validity of the easement and its use. While the district court affirmed the validity of the easement, it restricted how the defendants could use it. The court ruled that the defendants could not use the easement to allow a commercial hunting outfitter access to their property, which the defendants appealed.The Supreme Court of Wyoming reversed the lower court's decision. It ruled that the easement's language did not restrict the defendants from using it to allow a hunting outfitter access to their property. The court also ruled that Thirty-One Bar did not meet its burden of proving that such use of the easement materially increased the burden on their property. Thus, the lower court erred in declaring this use of the easement as impermissible. The court emphasized that an easement may be used for any reasonable use of the dominant estate, provided that use does not materially increase the burden on the servient estate. View "Testolinv. Thirty-One Bar Ranch Company" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court denying the State's civil in rem action for forfeiture of $75,000 in United States currency seized by law enforcement officers from Lorenzo Gallaga, holding that the district court erred in applying Wyoming's forfeiture and controlled substances laws.In denying the State's action for forfeiture, the district court concluded that the State failed to meet its burden of showing that Gallaga's presence in Wyoming with the $75,000 was an act in furtherance of a conspiracy to facilitate a violation of the Wyoming Controlled Substances Act. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the district court erred in denying the State's civil forfeiture claim because the State met its burden of proving that the currency seized from Gallaga was traceable to the exchange of controlled substances or otherwise used to facilitate activities which, if undertaken, would violate the Act. View "State v. Gallaga" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court finding that an outbuilding Michael Troy Jerup constructed violated the setback requirements governing the properties of Jerup and his neighboring property owner, J. William Winney, Jr., but denying Winney's request for an order requiring that the structure be removed or relocated, holding that there was no error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the district court erred in denying Winney's request for an injunction on the ground that it was untimely; (2) the district court erred in ruling that proof of an injury was an element of Winney's request for an order enjoining Jerup's violation of the protective covenants; and (3) a weighing of the equities did not support issuance of a mandatory injunction requiring the destruction of Jerup's outbuilding, and this Court affirms the district court's ruling on that alternate basis. View "Winney v. Jerup" on Justia Law

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The First Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part Petitioners' petition for a writ of review seeking interlocutory review of the orders of the district court denying Petitioners' motion to dismiss and motion to set aside default, holding that the district court abused its discretion in denying the motion to set aside the default judgment.At issue was subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction based on service by publication. Petitioners argued that the failure to serve Defendants with a summons stripped the district court of both subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. The First Circuit held (1) absent a statute or rule to the contrary, no summons is required when service is accomplished by publication; (2) the district court correctly determined that a summons is not required as to those defendants who are properly subject to service by publication; but (3) the court erred in finding the service by publication conferred personal jurisdiction over the defendants with a known address. View "Hopeful v. Etchepare, LLC" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court after a trial quieting title of certain property in favor of Appellees, the owners of the Warbonnet Ranch, after finding that Appellant, the owner of the Burnett Ranch, failed to meet its prima facie case establishing the elements of adverse possession, holding that there was no error.The Burnett Ranch was enclosed by a perimeter fence, within which were three non-contiguous parcels of property (subject property) that were part of the Warbonnet Ranch and deeded to Appellees. Appellant brought this action asserting that it owned the subject property by adverse possession through its use of the property for grazing cattle and by maintaining the permitter fence. The district court entered summary judgment for Appellees, but the Supreme Court reversed on the grounds that genuine issues of material fact existed. On remand, after a trial, the trial court entered judgment for Appellees. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court's findings were not clearly erroneous. View "Little Medicine Creek Ranch, Inc. v. d'Elia" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court affirming the decision of the Board of County Commissioners of Albany County approving ConnectGen Albany County LLC's application for a Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) permit to construct a wind farm on Albany County land, holding that Appellants were not entitled to relief.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) contrary to Appellants' argument on appeal, ConnectGen was not required to obtain a conditional use permit in addition to the WECS special use permit; (2) the Board's approval of the WECS special use permit was not arbitrary or capricious; and (3) Appellants failed to establish that the Board's approval of the WECS special use permit was a taking of private property in violation of Wyo. Const. art. 1, 32. View "Aanonsen v. Bd. of County Commissioners of Albany County" on Justia Law

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The Morningstars contracted to purchase a residential property from the Robisons, who intended to buy a nearby vacant lot and build a new house. When the lot they wished to buy was purchased by someone else, the Robisons failed to comply with the terms of the contract with the Morningstars. The Morningstars sought specific performance and monetary damages. The district court found the Robisons breached the contract, but denied the request for specific performance and awarded monetary damages.The Wyoming Supreme Court reversed. The district court erred in placing the burden on the Morningstars to prove monetary damages were an inadequate or impractical remedy and abused its discretion when it found specific performance was not an appropriate remedy. After finding only one of the special equities factors weighed in favor of the Robisons, the court essentially rewrote the contract to allow the Robisons to cancel because their preferred lot was unavailable. The Robisons admit they “had no legal recourse to cancel.” On remand, when determining if any monetary damages should be awarded in addition to specific performance, the court’s “guiding principle” should be to relate the contract back to August 2021, and place the Morningstars in as nearly the same position as they would have been in if the Robisons had not breached the contract. View "Morningstar v. Robison" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court dismissed in part and reversed in part the orders of the probate court and district court in these probate and partition matters, holding that remand was required.Dwight and Betty Lyman, as Trustees of their living trust (Lyman Trust), owned a parcel of property as tenants in common with George Fisher and another parcel in common with George's deceased parents. George sold his parents' interests in the two parcels to the Childs Trust. Lyman Trust filed a petition in the district court seeking to partition the parcels and filed a motion in the probate court seeking to set aside the sale. The probate court denied the motion, and the district court dismissed the partition petition without prejudice for failure to join Childs Trust as a required party. The Supreme Court (1) dismissed Lyman Trust's appeal of the probate court's actions, holding that Lyman Trust lacked standing in the Fisher probate action; and (2) reversed the district court's judgment dismissing Lyman Trust's partition action, holding that the court erred by dismissing the action rather than ordering the joinder of Childs Trust, and dismissal was not harmless. View "Lyman v. Fisher" on Justia Law