Court Opinion

ID: 9537715
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 07:21:51.419884+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:56:54.699434
License: Public Domain

RABINOWITZ, Chief Justice,
dissenting in part.
I dissent from this court’s affirmance of the superior court’s ruling on summary judgment that the Burnetts owned a property interest in Candlelight Extension.
The Burnetts took the position in their summary judgment motion that the National Park Service delegated its authority to approve the easement to the State, and that the State approved the easement in April 1984. They further maintained that no other conditions were imposed by the express language of the ordinance, and that they therefore obtained a vested property interest in the road as soon as the State related its approval. At one time, the City more or less shared the Burnetts’ view that the State possessed authority to approve the easement, and had approved the easement. The City now argues that the Burnetts never obtained federal approval, and that the easement never came into existence.
The documents submitted in support of the Burnetts’ summary judgment motion indicate that City officials attempted to obtain federal approval for the easement through the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks. The documents also indicate that State officials informed the City that federal authority to grant approval had been delegated to the State Parks Division and that the Division granted approval. However, I find nothing in the record to conclusively establish either that the federal government granted approval or that it had actually delegated its authority to grant approval to the State.
Mere assertions of authority are insufficient to prevail on a motion for partial summary judgment. See generally Zeman v. Lufthansa German Airlines, 699 P.2d 1274, 1280 (Alaska 1985) (when reviewing a grant of summary judgment, this court draws all reasonable inferences of fact in favor of the non-moving party and against the moving party). At a minimum, I would require a Department of the Interior document approving the easement or delegating to the State authority to approve the easement. Without such a document in the .record, I conclude that a material issue of fact exists as to whether the ordinance effectively granted the Burnetts an easement over Candlelight Extension. I would therefore reverse the grant of partial summary judgment and remand the case for further proceedings. See Foster v. Hanni, 841 P.2d 164, 170 (Alaska 1992) (we will reverse an order granting summary judgment “if the pleadings and evidence presented reveal either the existence of any genuine issues of material fact or that the moving party is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law”).
If, upon remand, the Burnetts were to establish that the federal government either approved the easement or delegated the State authority to approve the easement, I would hold that the City is es-topped as a matter of law from denying the validity of the easement.