Cundy v. Range Telephone Cooperative, Inc.; Sundance Mountain Resort, Inc. v. Union Telephone Co., 2005 WY 153

Summary

The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment and injunctions protecting Range Telephone Cooperative and Union Telephone Company's rights of ingress and egress across property owned by Cecil Cundy and Sundance Mountain Resort, Inc. The court held that Sundance Community Television Association and its later nonprofit corporate form were the same entity and that the association could lease the property and associated right-of-way to the telephone companies. The court rejected Cundy's statute-of-frauds and related challenges to the validity of the leases and easement rights.

Holdings

1. The Statute of Frauds did not invalidate Range Telephone's lease or its authorization to use the right-of-way because the deed conveyed the property to Hayward as trustee for the same entity that later operated as Sundance T.V. Association, Inc., d/b/a Sundance Community Television.
2. Range Telephone possessed enforceable rights-of-way providing access to its communications facilities, and Cundy could not interfere with Range's reasonable use of those rights.
3. The district court properly granted summary judgment and permanently enjoined Cundy from interfering with Range Telephone's access.
4. Union Telephone was the lessee under a valid lease from Sundance Community Television and was entitled to ingress and egress across Cundy's land to the leased parcel.
5. The court declined to consider Cundy's nonjoinder and failure-to-state-a-claim arguments because they were unsupported by cogent argument or pertinent authority; in any event, Range Telephone stated a claim upon which relief could be granted.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the absence of a written conveyance from Hayward, as trustee, to the successor nonprofit corporation invalidated the leases and associated rights-of-way under the Statute of Frauds.
2. Whether Sundance T.V. Association, Inc. and the Sundance Community Television Association for which Hayward served as trustee were the same entity for purposes of the property and lease rights.
3. Whether Range Telephone and Union Telephone were entitled to use the rights-of-way and to injunctive or declaratory relief against Cundy's interference.
4. Whether the district court erred by denying Cundy's motions to dismiss for failure to join an indispensable party and failure to state a claim.
5. Whether summary judgment or partial summary judgment was proper where the operative facts were undisputed.

Disposition

affirmed