Justia Montana Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Plaintiffs and Defendants owned real property on a peninsula in Echo Lake. Defendants owned a parcel on the southern end of the peninsula, through which the sole vehicular road granting access to the northern lots owned by Plaintiffs ran. Defendants purchased their property subject to a long-term existing easement allowing Plaintiffs access to their properties. In 1992, the parties entered into a road maintenance agreement setting forth the responsibilities of the parties regarding maintenance of the access road. When a flood damaged the road, Plaintiffs filed a complaint seeking declaratory judgment that the maintenance agreement was valid and enforceable and alleging that Defendants breached the agreement. Defendants counterclaimed. The district court entered judgment in favor of Defendants. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that the district court (1) erred by concluding that the maintenance agreement was unenforceable against Defendants for lack of consideration, but the error was harmless; (2) did not err by ruling that Defendants did not breach the maintenance agreement; and (3) did not err by ordering Plaintiffs to pay Defendants’ counterclaim-related attorney’s fees and costs. View "Low v. Reick" on Justia Law

The Water Court is adjudicating the existing water right claims of all appropriators in the Teton River Basin and issued a temporary preliminary decree for Basin 41O. Eldorado, which distributes water to shareholders from the Teton River northwest of Choteau, owns water rights that historically have been administered under the 1908 Perry Decree by a water commissioner (MCA 85-5-101). In 2014, the Water Court addressed objections to Eldorado’s existing water right claims as established under the temporary preliminary decree. The Montana Supreme Court, in Eldorado I, upheld the Water Court’s determinations that Eldorado’s claims required a volume quantification and that Eldorado historically put to beneficial use 15,000 acre-feet of water under its existing rights. The Joint Objectors later informed the water commissioner that Eldorado was approaching the volumetric quantification established by that order and requested that he cap the distribution of Eldorado’s water. Eldorado petitioned the Water Court to stay the volume quantification order pending the Eldorado I appeal. The Water Court denied Eldorado’s request and the commissioner ceased delivering water to Eldorado. Eldorado filed a dissatisfied water user complaint (MCA 85-5-301). The Montana Supreme Court affirmed denial of that complaint. Eldorado participated in every step of the process that resulted in the establishment of its rights under the modified temporary preliminary decree. View "Eldorado Coop Canal Co. v. Hoge" on Justia Law

Property owners (Petitioners) appealed the Department of Revenue’s valuation of their residential lot for the tax year 2012. The Flathead County Tax Appeal Board (County Board) reduced the value of the land and the value of the improvements. Petitioners appealed, arguing that the appraised value was still too high. The State Tax Appeal Board (STAB) upheld the County Board’s determination of the value of the property. The district court reversed, concluding that the County Board property value upheld by STAB was clearly erroneous. The Supreme Court reversed the district court and reinstated the STAB decision, holding that the district court erred in reversing STAB’s order concerning the valuation of the property. View "Peretti v. State, Dep’t of Revenue" on Justia Law

The Wayne S. Hansen Trust acquired tax deeds to three tracts of real property previously owned by Douglas Johnson. The Trust filed three quiet title actions for the respective properties. Johnson responded by filing his own quiet title actions on the properties. The district court granted summary judgment to Johnson, finding that the Trust failed to comply with the tax deed process, and declared the tax deeds void. The district court then ruled that no additional redemption amount was owing to the Trust. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err by granting summary judgment to Johnson and declaring the tax deeds void; and (2) the district court did not err in determining the final amount due to the Trust as purchaser of the tax liens. View "Johnson v. Wayne S. Hansen Trust" on Justia Law

This case was the second segment of Water Court Case 41O-129. Case 41O-129A was limited to the issues involving the use of the Bateman Ditch. Here, the Supreme Court reviewed the parties’ appeals of the Water Court’s determination of the remaining aspects of the case, styled as Water Court Case 41O-129B. The Water Master issued a report with his findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding each of Eldorado Coop Canal Company’s four claimed water rights to water from the Teton River. The Montana Water Court entered an order amending and adopting the master’s report. Eldorado, the Lower Teton Joint Objectors (LTJO), and Teton Coop Reservoir Co. (TCRC) appealed the Water Court’s order. The Supreme Court affirmed the Water Court’s order regarding Case 41O-129B, holding that the Water Court’s factual findings produced the proper result, the Water Court did not err when it assigned one volume maximum for all four of Eldorado’s named rights, and the Water Court applied the appropriate standard of review to the Master’s factual findings. View "Eldorado Coop Canal Co. v. Teton Coop Reservoir Co" on Justia Law

The parties to this appeal were Gene Curry, Cheryl Curry, and Curry Cattle Co. (collectively, Curry) and Pondera County Canal & Reservoir Company (Pondera). Both Curry and Pondera owned rights to divert waters from Birch Creek. Curry filed a complaint alleging interference with his water rights by Pondera. The Montana Water Court determined that Pondera was entitled to claim beneficial use based on the maximum number of shares authorized by the Montana Carey Land Board, a service area for Pondera’s place of use, the extent of the acreage included in the service area, the adjustment of the flow rate for two claims, and the reversal of the dismissal of a third claim. The Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded, holding that the Water Court (1) did not err when it determined that Pondera’s rights were not limited by the actual acreage historically irrigated by its shareholders; (2) did not err in concluding that Pondera was entitled to a service area; (3) erred when it determined the acreage included in the service area; (4) applied the appropriate standard of review and did not misapprehend the effect of the evidence; and (5) did not err in tabulating two of the claims at issue. View "Curry v. Pondera County Canal & Reservoir Co." on Justia Law

Appellants (collectively, the Teisingers) claimed a 3/5ths royalty interest in oil, gas, and minerals located on several sections of land in Richland County. The Teisingers’ assert that their 3/5ths royalty interest was reserved in a 1953 warranty deed. The district court denied the Teisingers’ claim and quieted title to the royalty interest in favor of Appellees (collectively, the Sundheims). The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the district court (1) improperly admitted testimony from an English professor interpreting the language of the warranty deed’s royalty interest reservation; (2) erred by resolving the ambiguity in the warranty deed in favor of the Sundheims; and (3) erred in applying the doctrine of laches to bar the Teisingers’ claim to the 3/5ths royalty interest. Remanded for entry of judgment quieting title to the 3/5ths royalty interest reserved in the warranty deed in favor of the Teisingers. View "Wicklund v. Sundheim" on Justia Law

The dispute in this case centered on the ownership of subsurface mineral rights to coal-rich land located in Musselshell County. Plaintiffs filed this action against Musselshell County to quiet title to the property. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the County and awarded costs but not attorney fees. Plaintiffs appealed, and the County cross-appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in concluding that the pertinent statute of limitations barred Plaintiffs’ quiet title action; and (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the County its attorney fees. View "Bergum v. Musselshell County" on Justia Law

The Wayne S. Hansen Trust acquired tax deeds to three tracts of real property located in Powell County, which were previously owned by Douglas Johnson. The Trust filed three quiet title actions for the respective properties. John responded by filing his own quiet title actions on the properties, alleging that both the County and the Trust had failed to comply with several statutes. The district court granted summary judgment to Johnson and declared the tax deeds void. The Trust filed a request for relief from the judgment and a motion to alter or amend the judgment or for a new trial. The district court partially granted the Trusts’ motions, concluding that the judgment failed to address the issues of taxes accrued or paid by either party during the pendency of the proceedings. The district court then issued an order addressing the calculation of the final redemption amount, ruling that no additional redemption amount was due or owing to the Trust. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the host of errors in the statutory procedure in this case required voiding of the deeds; and (2) the district court did not err in determining the final redemption amount due to the Trust as purchaser of the tax deed. View "Johnson v. Wayne S. Hansen Trust" on Justia Law

Fellows filed the underlying complaint challenging the Water Commissioner’s administration of water under the Perry v. Beattie decree. The district court dismissed Fellows’s complaint for failure to state a claim. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded, concluding that Fellows’s allegations were sufficient to state a claim. Fellows then requested the district court to certify a question to the Water Court. The district court granted the request. The Water Court entered a final order that tabulated the water rights necessary to address Fellows’s underlying complaint. By the time of its certification order, the water claims had been adjudicated in a temporary preliminary decree, and therefore, the Water Court ordered that the matter be closed and returned to the district court. The Perry Defendants filed a motion to alter or amend the Water Court’s judgment. The Water Court denied the motion. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the Water Court correctly followed the law of the case; (2) Fellows’s petition for certification was proper; and (3) the Water Court did not err in defining the scope of the controversy, in determining the purpose of the tabulation, and in tabulating the applicable rights involved in the controversy. Remanded. View "Fellows v. Saylor" on Justia Law