Defendant's Attorney:

Description: Kalispell, Montana real property lawyers represented the parties in a dispute over the use of an easement.


Bardos sued for injunctive relief, asserting trespass, nuisance, and quiet title actions against Spoklie regarding the two easements, and requested a temporary restraining order. The District Court denied the request and set a show cause hearing for issuance of a preliminary injunction. The hearing was continued for a month, over Bardos's objection. The parties presented evidence at the show cause hearing on February 16, 2022, and, at the close of the hearing, the District Court denied Bardos's motion for preliminary injunction. Bardos appealed the denial, and this Court affirmed, noting that "Bardos presented evidence showing only minor disturbances to the land surface." Bardos v. Spoklie, 2023 MT 16N, ¶ 9, 411 Mont. 389, 523 P.3d 51. Prior to the appeal, Spoklie moved for summary judgment, which the District Court stayed pending the outcome of the appellate proceedings. After issuance of remittitur, Spoklie renewed his request for summary judgment and, after another hearing, the District Court granted the motion, reasoning that Spoklie's activities were "within the scope" of Spoklie's Easement because "[t]he instances of Spoklie temporarily parking construction vehicles off the side of the roadway but within the Spoklie Easement was for the purpose of ingress and egress of the vehicles and incidental to the express rights of ingress and egress," and "[a]s to the location where the equipment-hauling trucks and trailers were parked temporarily, there is no genuine issue of material fact." The District Court also did not take issue with Spoklie's removal of the boulders, as it constituted the clearing of an obstruction to the easement, or rule on Spoklie's proposed erection of a larger set of cluster mailboxes, as it had not yet occurred.

Bardos v. Spoklie, 2024 MT 274, DA 23-0571 (Mont. Nov 19, 2024)

Outcome: Affirmed

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: