Opinion ID: 884061
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Appellate review of the remaining issues:

Text: Having reversed the District Court's 1995 Final Order and Judgment, a question arises as to whether the court's earlier rulings on various motions for summary judgment are now also reviewable. Once a final judgment has been entered, all nonappealable intermediate orders or decisions, to which there has been a proper objection, are reviewable on appeal from the final judgment. Kirchner v. Western Mont. Mental Health Ctr. (1993), 261 Mont. 227, 230, 861 P.2d 927, 929; Brown v. Midland Nat'l Bank (1967), 150 Mont. 422, 435 P.2d 878. In Brown, we established that although a motion for summary judgment is a non-appealable order at the time it is made because of its interlocutory character ... all non-appealable intermediate orders or decisions properly excepted or objected to which involve the merits or necessarily affect the judgment are reviewable on appeal from a final judgment.... This review includes reviewing an order denying a motion for summary judgment. Brown, 435 P.2d at 881-82 (citations omitted). In its order of May 1994, the District Court granted summary judgment with regard to the following issues: 1. easement by estoppel 2. Rule 11, M.R.Civ.P., violations and abuse of process. Since these issues have not been appealed, we need not discuss them. The court denied summary judgment as to the following issues: 1. easement by public prescription 2. laches 3. tortious interference 4. trespass and/or wrongful occupation. The court dismissed Respondents' claim of easement by necessity and, sua sponte, substituted a claim of easement by implication in its place. The court also granted Respondents summary judgment as to whether any rights to use North Hidden Valley Road automatically included rights to build within the entire sixty-foot easement area. The Grigonises appeal from the court's denial of summary judgment in their favor as to the above issues. Our standard of reviewing a grant, or in the present case, denial, of summary judgment is the same as that used by the district court. Halverson, 885 P.2d at 1288; Wild River, 812 P.2d at 345. Summary judgment is proper when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Rule 56(c), M.R.Civ.P.; Bache, 883 P.2d at 820. Thus, we determine whether a genuine issue of material fact exists and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Motarie, 907 P.2d at 156.