Case Summaries

United States 10th Circuit Court of Appeals 791 Fed. Appx. 711, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 32393 (cert denied) The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the destruction of a home by police officers attempting to apprehend a criminal suspect was not a taking under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Lechs owned a home for their...

2019 UT 62 (October 16, 2019) The Utah Supreme Court held that a water district, which owned an easement across land owned by a state trust, had no authority to regulate the trust’s use of its property. Metro Water District owns an easement across land owned by SHCH Alaska Trust (Alaska), which gives it a right to enter Alaska’s property...

Utah Supreme Court August 13, 2019 2019 UT 45 (Click for full text)  ***Subsequent history. After remand from this opinion, a subsequent appeal was the subject of an additional opinion by the Utah Supreme Court. Please see WDIS v. Hi-Country Estates (WDIS II), 2022 UT 33 The Utah Supreme Court clarified two prior cases – In re Hoopiiaina Trust  and...

2019 UT App 132, 447 P.3d 1278 (Aug. 1, 2019)  The Utah Court of Appeals adopted a test for defining the scope of an implied easement, which is determined by looking at the parties’ probable expectations at the time of severance. Bridge and Sorf own adjoining properties separated by a paved alley. The alley is on Bridge’s property. Both properties...

139 S. Ct. 2162, 204 L. Ed. 2d 558 (June 21, 2019)  The United States Supreme Court overruled its prior decision in Williamson County Regional Planning Comm’n v. Hamilton Bank (1985), which concluded that a property owner did not have a ripe federal takings claim until he had unsuccessfully pursued an initial state law claim for just compensation. A Pennsylvania...

2019 UT 23, 445 P.3d 443 (June 11, 2019) The Utah Supreme Court held that a claim of unreasonable interference with a water district’s easement over private party was ripe for adjudication. Metro owns and operates the Salt Lake Aqueduct (SLA), and along its corridor, owns some property in fee and has easements over other portions. Mr. Sorf owns property...

2019 UT App 94, 444 P.3d 567 (May 31, 2019) (cert. denied)  The Utah Court of Appeals upheld a judgment in favor of Salt Lake City in allowing a special exception for construction of a two-story house that exceeded Salt Lake City Code’s maximum height allowance. A house began construction on the lot directly south of homeowner Jeremy Ferre’s property....

2019 UT App 45, 440 P.3d 856 (March 28, 2019) The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for Utah County’s approval of an application for an agricultural protection area subject to certain modification requests that excluded challenged portions from the agriculture protection area. The Farleys are landowners in Utah County, and submitted an application requesting the creation of an...

Utah Supreme Court 2019 UT 7 (Click for text of opinion) February 20, 2019 **Subsequent history: following remand from this decision, a second appeal resulted in a subsequent Utah Supreme Court decision – Utah Stream Access Coalition v. VR Acquisitions (USAC II), 2023 UT 9. The Utah Supreme Court clarified that its decision in Conatser v. Johnson, recognizing a public...

Utah Court of Appeals February 7, 2019 2019 UT App 20 (Click for text of opinion) The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed the district court in setting aside a county’s denial of a conditional use permit to build silos that were taller than otherwise permitted by ordinance. Kilgore operates an asphalt batch plant in a mining and grazing zone of...