No. 87-57 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 

1987 

STATE OF MONTANA, 

Plaintiff and Respondent, 

-vsDAVID W. PATTON, 

Defendant and Appellant. 

APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Sixth Judicial District, 

In and for the County of Sweet Grass, 

The Honorable Byron Robb, Judge presiding. 

COUNSEL OF RECORD: 

For Appellant: 

Knuchel & McGregor; Karl Knuchel, Livingston, Montana 

For Respondent: 

Hon. Mike Greely, Attorney General, Helena, Montana 

Dorothy McCarter, Asst. Atty. General, Helena 

G. Thomas Biglen, County Attorney, Big Timber, Montana 

James A. Tully, Deputy County Attorney, Big Timber 

Submitted on Briefs: April 3, 1987 

Decided: June 2, 1987 

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Clerk 
Mr. Justice Fred J. Weber delivered the Opinion of the Court. 

David FJ. Patton was found guilty of violating 

§ 61-10-201, MCA, which requires payment of gross weight fees 

on trucks, by bench trial in the District Court of the Sixth 

Judicial District, Sweet Grass County. We affirm. 

The issue is whether the District Court erred in deciding the truck was not exempt from vehicle licensing and 

registration requirements because it was not an implement of 

husbandry. 

The parties stipulated to, and the District Court adopted, the pertinent facts of this case. Those stipulated facts 

are : 

1. At approximately 9:30 AM on April 8, 1986, 

Officer Charles Pratt came up behind an orange 

International dump truck while proceeding south on 

U.S. Highway 191 north of Melville in Sweet Grass 

County, Montana. Officer Pratt believed the truck 

to be a Montana Department of Highways truck, but 

noticed that the truck carried no license plates. 

2. The truck was owned by Cremer Ranches, a 

Montana corporation engaged in agricultural operations, and driven by David M. Patton, a Cremer 

employee. At the time, Mr. Patton was operating 

the truck in the course of his employment and for 

the benefit of his employer. He was taking the 

truck from one part of the Cremer Ranch to another 

part of the ranch located to the south and across 

U.S. Highway 191. 

3. The truck was purchased by the Cremer 

Ranches from the Department of Highways several 

years earlier at a private sale and has never been 

licensed or registered by Cremer Ranches. The 

truck has never been used by Cremer Ranches except 

in the course of ranch business and is never driven 

on a public road or highway except to travel from 

one part of the ranch to another. The truck has 

not been modified by Cremer Ranches since it was 

purchased and is in essentially the same condition 

as when purchased, normal wear and tear excepted. 
4. U.S. Highway 191 is a federal highway 

running north and south in Sweet Grass County. The 

Cremer Ranches own ranch property situated east and 

west of Highway 191 and the Cremer ranch property 

is bisected by the highway. 

5. The truck was originally used by the 

highway department for transporting road building 

and repair materials and appears similar to the 

trucks the department uses at the present time for 

that purpose. 

Rased upon these facts, the District Court concluded: 

(1) that the vehicle in question was a truck before Cremer 

Ranch obtained it, that it had not been modified, and that it 

continued to be a truck as defined in § 61-1-107, MCA; (2) 

that the truck was not a piece of special mobile equipment as 

defined in § 61-1-104, MCA, and was not exempt from registration and payment of fees under $ 61-3-431, MCA; (3) that the 

truck was not an implement of husbandry as defined in S 

61-1-121, MCA, because it was not designed for agricultural 

purposes; (4) that if the truck was used on the public roads 

of Montana then it must be properly licensed and the required 

fees paid in accordance with 5 61-10-201, MCA; and (5) that 

David Patton was guilty of driving an unlicensed truck upon 

which gross weight fees were not paid on a public highway in 

violation of 5 61-10-201, MCA. Mr. Patton was fined $90 plus 

a surcharge of $10 for his offense. 

Did the District Court err in deciding the truck was not 

exempt from vehicle licensing and registration requirements 

because it was not an implement of husbandry? 

The only issue appealed by the parties was whether the 

truck was an implement of husbandry and thus exempt from the 

licensing and registration requirements of § 61-10-201, MCA. 

Section 61-10-201, MCA, requires truck and truck tractors to 

pay an annual gross weight licensing fee based upon the 

weight of the tr~xck. Section 61-3-431 (I), MCA, exempts 
special mobile equipment from motor vehicle registration and 

fees. Section 61-3-431(4), MCA, provides: 

Publicly owned special mobile equipment and implements of husbandry used exclusively by an owner in 

the conduct of his own farming operations are 

exempt from this section. 

After careful consideration, we affirm the District 

Court's conclusion that the vehicle did not fit within the 

"implement of husbandry" definition found at § 61-1-121, MCA. 

Section 61-1-121, MCA, provides: 

"Implement of husbandry" means every vehicle which 

is designed for agricultural purposes and exclusively used by the owner thereof in the conduct of 

his agricultural operations. 

If the truck in question was not an implement of husbandry, 

then it is not exempt from G.V.W. licensing requirements. 

The District Court concluded the vehicle was a truck and 

was not exempt from registration and payment of fees under S 

61-3-431, MCA. Specifically, the court stated that the truck 

was not an implement of husbandry as defined in 5 61-1-121, 

MCA, because it was not designed for agricultural purposes. 

We agree with that conclusion. 

The truck in question was originally used by the Montana 

Department of Highways for transporting road building and 

repair materials. The truck was not designed to be used for 

agricultural purposes which is a requirement under 5 

61-1-121, MCA, to qualify as an implement of husbandry. 

We affirm the District Court. 

We Concur: 
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Justices