Hicks v. Dowd

Lowham Limited Partnership owned Meadowood Ranch (the ranch), a large tract of land in Johnson County, Wyoming. In 1993, Lowham raised the idea of placing a conservation easement on the ranch with the Board of County Commissioners (board) of Johnson County. In response, the board passed a resolution creating the Scenic Preserve Trust, which was to be the entity to hold any trust-property rights of Johnson County. Subsequently, Lowham transferred to the board a deed creating a conservation easement to preserve and protect the existing features of the ranch in perpetuity. The conservation easement prohibited the removal of minerals from the land. The board transferred the deed to the Scenic Preserve Trust. In 1999, Lowham sold the ranch to the Dowds (defendants). The property was still subject to the conservation easement at the time of the sale. In 2001, a company that owned the mineral interests under the ranch sought to extract methane from the coal bed. In 2002, the Dowds requested that the board extinguish the conservation easement by selling it to the Dowds. The board passed a resolution and transferred the conservation easement to the Dowds. The deed stated that the easement was extinguished and terminated. Robert Hicks (plaintiff) was a resident of Johnson County. Hicks filed suit and sought a writ of mandamus requiring the board to rescind the deed. Hicks argued that the board violated its fiduciary duties and the conservation easement in extinguishing the easement. The attorney general’s office was notified of the legal action by Hicks, but the office responded that it did not need to intervene. The district court found that the Scenic Preserve Trust was a charitable trust and entered judgment in favor of the Dowds. Hicks appealed. The attorney general did not intervene in the appeal.