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Sellers v. Claudson

Wyoming Supreme Court
550 P.3d 559 (2024)

Written by Angela Patrick, JD

Facts

Irene and Dean Pond (the couple) owned 16 acres in Wyoming. In 1961, the couple sold 12 of those acres to Frederick Schlack. Schlack and Dean worked together to build a fence around the couple’s four acres, but they mistakenly placed it too far onto Schlack’s land, causing everyone to believe that a triangular section of Schlack’s property belonged to the couple. For more than 30 years, the couple treated the triangular section as their own, using it for recreation and storage. The couple built and improved structures on the triangular piece, drilled a well nearby to maintain it, and allowed a family member to live there in a trailer for nine years. In 1992, the property passed to Phyllis Claudson and other Pond family members (collectively, the Ponds) (plaintiffs), who continued using it. Schlack’s property later passed to his son, who discovered the boundary issue in 2008 but did not resolve it. In 2021, with knowledge of this issue, Michael and Michelle Sellers (defendants) purchased Schlack’s property from the son. In 2022, the Ponds filed a quiet-title action, claiming ownership of the triangular piece through adverse possession. The trial court granted summary judgment for the Ponds. The Sellerses appealed.

Rule of Law

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Holding and Reasoning (Fenn, J.)

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