Summary 2006 WY 60

Summary of Decision issued May 12, 2006

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Case Name: Granite Springs Retreat Assoc., Inc. v. Manning

Citation: 2006 WY 60

Docket Number: 05-149

Appeal from the District Court of Laramie County, the Honorable Nicholas Kalokathis, Judge.

Representing Petitioner: Julie Nye Tiedeken of Tiedeken & Scoggin, PC, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Representing Respondents: Arthur L. and Katherine L. Manning, pro se, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Date of Decision: May 12, 2006

Issue: Whether the circuit court has subject matter jurisdiction to encumber title to real property.

Holding: Granite Springs brought a small claims action in circuit court seeking to collect homeowner’s association dues in the amount of $265.44 from the Mannings. The case began as a simple collection action but evolved into a determination regarding the validity and application of restrictive covenants pertaining to real property.
Jurisdictional questions are reviewed de novo pursuant to the Court’s inherent power and the duty to address jurisdictional defects on appeal. The facts established at the hearing were included in the body of the decision. Granite Springs relied on Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 5-9-128(a)(i) which states that circuit courts have exclusive original civil jurisdiction for an action where the prayer for recovery is an amount not exceeding seven thousand dollars, exclusive of court costs. However, effective March 3, 2004, the legislature revised that provision to read: If it appears from the pleadings or the evidence of either party at the trial of any case in circuit court that the title of boundaries to lands are in question, the judge shall immediately make an entry thereof in the docket, cease all further proceedings and certify to district court of the county a transcript of all entries made in the docket relating to the case in the same manner and within the same time as upon appeal.
A determination of the validity of restrictive covenants calls title into question. The Court stated that covenants place restrictions on an owner’s right to use, control and enjoy their property. At trial, the Mannings claimed that the restrictive covenants did not apply to their tract of land. Their defense raised a question of title. The circuit court was without subject matter jurisdiction to consider the matter and the case should have been certified to district court.

The Court affirmed that portion of the district court’s order setting aside the circuit court’s judgment. The Court remanded the matter to district court for remand to the circuit court. The circuit court shall certify the case to the district court in accordance with the statute.

J. Burke delivered the opinion for the court.

Link to the case: http://tinyurl.com/kglyw .