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No. 00-278

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA

2001 MT 154

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NICHOLE TROMBLEY and ROBB SIBLEY, ) ) Plaintiffs and Appellants, ) ) O P I N I O N v. ) AND ) O R D E R DOROTHY A. MANN and JOHN AGUE, ) ) Defendants and Respondents. )

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1. ¶ Appellants Nichole Trombley and Robb Sibley appeal the summary judgment entered by the Nineteenth Judicial District Court, Lincoln County, in favor of Respondent John Ague. The District Court, however, denied Respondent Dorothy Mann's motion for summary judgment. 2. ¶We conclude that absent certification by the District Court, pursuant to Rule 54(b),

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1. ¶Trombley and Sibley purchased real property in Lincoln County, Montana, from Mann in 1997. Ague was Mann's broker with whom Mann had listed the property. Following the transaction, Trombley and Sibley brought suit over an alleged access problem, and named both Mann and Ague as defendants. 2. ¶Mann and Ague both filed motions for summary judgment. The District Court, in a February 3, 2000 order, granted summary judgment in favor of Ague, determining that whatever duty he owed to the plaintiffs to disclose information regarding access to Mann's property was fully discharged. The court, however, denied Mann's motion for summary judgment, determining that, as the seller, material facts remained in dispute regarding the disclosure of the alleged access problem. 3. ¶Subsequently, Trombley and Sibley filed this appeal, arguing that the court committed reversible error by determining that no material facts remained in dispute regarding Ague's disclosure of information pertaining to access to the property at issue. DISCUSSION
1. ¶As a general rule, this Court assumes jurisdiction of an appeal in a civil matter only where a final judgment has been entered. See Rule 1(b)(1), M.R.App.P. This Court may also assume jurisdiction over interlocutory matters pursuant to the exceptions found under Rule 1(b)(2) through (3), and Rule 3, M.R.App.P. Although the issue of this Court's jurisdiction was not raised by either party, we may address the question sua sponte
. See Thompson v. Crow Tribe of Indians , 1998 MT 161, ¶ 12, 289 Mont. 358, ¶ 12, 962 P.2d 577, ¶ 12. 2. ¶It is clear that the District Court's February 3, 2000 order granting summary judgment in favor of Ague, but denying Mann's motion for summary judgment, was not a final judgment in this action. See generally Cechovic v. Hardin & Assoc., Inc. (1995), 273 Mont. 104, 118, 902 P.2d 520, 528 (stating general rule that summary judgment orders are interlocutory and therefore not appealable until final judgment is rendered) (citation omitted); Knight & Co. v. Fort Belknap Indian Agency (1980), 188 Mont. 218, 220-21, 612 P.2d 1290, 1291-92 (concluding that appeal must be

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1. ¶The Clerk is directed to mail a true copy of this Opinion and Order to counsel of record for the parties, to the Clerk of the Nineteenth Judicial District Court, and to the Honorable Michael C. Prezeau.
DATED this 9 th day of August, 2001.

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/S/ KARLA M. GRAY /S/ JAMES C. NELSON /S/ JIM RICE /S/ W. WILLIAM LEAPHART

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