Opinion ID: 2567660
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Parents Are Entitled to Summary Judgment on Their Adverse Possession Claim

Text: ¶26 Prior to the district court's determination that the Parents could not present evidence of adverse possession through their tenant, the district court denied the Parents' motion for summary judgment on the issue of adverse possession, citing unresolved issues of fact. The Parents challenge this ruling on appeal. In light of our holding that a claimant may satisfy the actual possession requirement of adverse possession through a tenant, we reverse the district court's ruling and hold that the undisputed facts show that the Parents possessed the Property adverse to the Trusts for the statutory period. ¶27 Following the 1982 and 1983 deed conveyances, the Parents continued to act as landlord to Qwest by collecting rent, managing the Property, negotiating lease agreements, and making repairs. The possession was open and notorious, putting the Trusts on notice that the Parents were acting as the landlord of the property. Richard was put on notice because he prepared the tax returns for the Parents on which they reported the rental income from the Property. Acting as landlord and collecting the rent for personal use is, as discussed above, actual possession of the land. Furthermore, such actions are prima facie hostile to the claim of the legal title owner unless done in subordination to the legal title owner. [21] ¶28 Here, the Trusts argue that the Parents' management of the Property was in subordination to the Trusts. At various times during the litigation, the Trusts attempted to present testimonial evidence of a secret agency arrangement between David and Richard whereby the Parents would continue to enjoy the profits from the Property during their lifetime despite legal ownership by the Trusts. Whether such an arrangement existed and whether that arrangement negated the hostile character of the possession would, under most circumstances, be factual issues for trial. ¶29 Regardless of whether there was such an arrangement at one time, however, the dispute between the parties that arose in 1991 when the Parents attempted to donate the Property to their church is inconsistent with the secret agency arrangement continuing beyond that date. The Parents made an unequivocal claim of ownership and continued for an additional nine years as landlords of the Property until 2000, when Richard contacted Qwest and executed a new lease agreement. Any permissive arrangement that might have existed prior to the 1991 dispute could not have endured beyond that date. Despite the Parents' apparent exercise of dominion over the Property, the Trusts did not bring a cause of action during the seven-year statutory period. Even if we assume, as the Trusts suggest, that a secret agency relationship existed beginning in 1982, the Parents have nevertheless met the requirement of actual possession of the property that was hostile to the legal title holder and continuous for the statutory period. ¶30 Finally, the Parents were required to pay taxes on the land throughout the statutory period. [22] It is undisputed that the Parents paid the taxes until 1987. In 1987, 1994, and 1999, the Parents entered into lease agreements directing Qwest to pay the taxes directly. Just as the Parents may satisfy the actual possession requirement through the possession of their tenant, so too they may satisfy the requirement to pay taxes by directing their tenant to pay the taxes as part of the lease agreement. In this case, the Parents, not the Trusts, entered into the lease agreements directing that Qwest pay the property taxes. Thus the Parents have satisfied the requirement to pay taxes on the Property. ¶31 Even with all inferences drawn in favor of the Trusts, the Parents are nevertheless entitled to judgment as a matter of law on their adverse possession claim. Therefore, we reverse the decision of the district court and remand with instructions to enter summary judgment in favor of the Parents on their adverse possession claim quieting title to the Property in them and for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.