Summary 2009 WY 153

Summary of Decision issued December 14, 2009

Summaries are prepared by Law Librarians and are not official statements of the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Case Name: Crescent H Homeowners Assoc., Inc. v. Crescent H Assoc. of Homeowners, Inc.

Citation: 2009 WY 153

Docket Number: S-07-0275

Appeal from the District Court of Teton County, the Honorable Nancy J. Guthrie, Judge.

Representing Appellant Crescent H Homeowners Assoc., Inc.: Brent R. Cohen, Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons, LLP, Casper, Wyoming; William Phillip Schwartz, Ranck & Schwartz, Jackson, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee Crescent H. Assoc. of Homeowners, Inc.: Jessica Rutzick, Jessica Rutzick Law Offices, Jackson, Wyoming.

Representing Appellee, Jones Holdings, LLC: Jennifer Ann Golden and Andrea L. Richard, the Richard Law Firm, PC, Jackson, Wyoming.

Facts/Discussion: The appeal involved a dispute between two homeowner associations regarding regulation of fishing and land use activities within the Crescent H Ranch. Crescent H Homeowners Assoc., Inc. (First Filing Assoc.) contended that it and Crescent H Assoc. of Homeowners, Inc. (Fourth Filing Assoc.) formed a contract that made them jointly responsible for creating and enforcing rules governing recreational activities on the Ranch. The Fourth Filing Assoc. and Intervenor, Jones Holdings, assert that the Fourth Filing Assoc. has the sole right to regulate these activities.
The Fishing License and Use Agreements at issue resulted from settlement of an adversarial bankruptcy proceeding initiated by First Filing Association. With regard to the fishing licenses, the parties specifically agreed that upon entry of an order approving the bankruptcy settlement, the Licensor would sell, grant and convey to each of the Homeowners a fishing license which was to be an interest in real property and have provisions for appropriate recording in the real property records. In addition, it was undisputed that the Fishing License Agreement identified the Licensor as the regulating authority. The First Filing Association has never been designated as a Licensor or been assigned any rights as a Licensor as required by the new Fishing License and Use Agreements. First Filing bases its claim of joint regulatory authority upon a 1997 document entitled Crescent H Ranch Rules and Regulations. However, First Filing was ignoring the language of the Bankruptcy Settlement which specifically stated that the New Fishing Licenses and New Use Agreements were to supersede and replace all existing fishing licenses, access rights, and amenity use agreements rendering all such existing agreements null and void.

Conclusion: The district court correctly determined that regulatory authority is governed by the new Fishing and Use Agreements and that regulatory authority has been assigned to the Fourth Filing Association. The First Filing Association failed to establish any genuine issue of material fact entitling it to joint regulatory authority. In light of that, the Court did not need to address other issues raised by the First Filing Assoc.

Affirmed.

J. Burke delivered the decision.

Link: http://tinyurl.com/ye8pgzw.

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