This website requires JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings, or use a different web browser like Google Chrome or Safari.

Options

From our private database of 28,700+ case briefs...

Lewistown Propane Co. v. Ford

Montana Supreme Court

42 P.3d 229 (2002)

Facts

Lewistown Propane Company (plaintiff) obtained a judgment against Tom Ford (defendant) for a debt of approximately $28,000 plus interest. The records at both the Montana Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) listed Ford as the owner of a Piper Cub aircraft. Lewistown Propane seized the airplane and filed a notice of execution levy against Ford, notifying him that Lewistown Propane intended to sell the airplane to pay off the judgment. Ford had recently sold the airplane to Raymond Becky (defendant), but the transfer had not been recorded with either the FAA or the State of Montana. Becky intervened in the action, seeking to stop the sale and to get the airplane back. The district court ordered Lewistown Propane to return the airplane to Becky, and Lewistown Propane appealed to the Montana Supreme Court. Becky eventually recorded the airplane sale with the FAA, but Lewistown Propane never recorded its lien on the airplane. Becky argued that even if Lewistown Propane had a right to seize the airplane before the sale had been recorded, Becky’s currently recorded ownership took priority over Lewistown Propane’s unrecorded lien, giving him a right to get the airplane back.

Rule of Law

The rule of law is the black letter law upon which the court rested its decision. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Issue

The issue section includes the dispositive legal issue in the case phrased as a question. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Holding and Reasoning (Regnier, J.)

The holding and reasoning section includes:

A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

What to do next…

Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.
You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 546,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.
Unlock this case brief Read our student testimonials
Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.
Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.
Learn about our approach Read more about Quimbee

Here's why 546,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 28,700 briefs, keyed to 983 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Here's why 546,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
28,700 briefs - keyed to 983 casebooks
Uniform format for every case brief
Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
Top-notch customer support