Utah Supreme Court October 24 2014 2014 UT 46 (Click for full text of Opinion) The Utah Supreme Court upheld statutory limits on the number of signatures and the time to complete a petition for an initiative. The Utah Constitution provides that the people of the State may enact laws by initiative (and repeal legislative acts by referendum). The same constitutional provision …
Martin v. Rasmussen
Utah Court of Appeals August 21, 2014 2014 UT App 200 (Click for full text of Opinion) This case arose from a proposed settlement of a boundary dispute. The parties own adjoining lots in a subdivision. A fence had been constructed about five feet from the actual lot line, increasing one lot while diminishing the other. The dispute became quite heated, …
Hodgson v. Farmington City
Utah Court of Appeals August 7, 2014 2014 UT App 188 (Click for full text of opinion) The Utah Court of Appeals upheld a City’s decision that a barn was unsafe and required repair or demolition. The barn has also been used as a billboard for several years, but had deteriorated to the point that the City decided to act. The owners …
Spanish Fork v. Evans Grader & Paving
Utah Court of Appeals July 31, 2014 2014 UT App 178 (Click for full text of opinion) The Utah Court of Appeals upheld a City’s action to remove a sign erected without obtaining all required approvals. The City obtained a summary judgment (without a full trial), and the business appealed. The business requested permission to install a billboard on its premises. The City granted a …
Green v. Brown v. Weber County
Utah Court of Appeals 2014 UT App 155 July 3, 2014 (Full Text of Green v. Brown v. Weber County) The Utah Court of Appeals confirmed that the time to appeal a land use decision begins to run from the date that a person receives actual or constructive notice of the decision. Brown and Green own adjoining lots in a …
Anderson v. Fautin
Utah Court of Appeals June 26, 2014 2014 UT App 151 (Click for full text of opinion) ***Subsequent history: Further proceedings in this case resulted in an opinion by the Utah Supreme Court. Please see Anderson v. Fautin, 2016 UT 22. The Utah Court of Appeals concluded that an owner’s silence or inactivity does not defeat a boundary by acquiescence claim …
UDOT v. Carlson
Utah Supreme Court June 24, 2014 2014 UT 24 (Click for full text of opinion) The Utah Supreme Court recognized that the limits of what constitutes a “public use” have not been clearly identified, and remanded this matter back to the District Court so the parties may have an opportunity to brief and argue that question. Using eminent domain, UDOT acquired 15 …
Marvin Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States
United States Supreme Court March 10, 2014 2014 U.S. LEXIS 1788 The US Supreme Court determined that a railroad right-of-way granted under an 1875 federal law was an easement only, and did not grant any title to the land. Thus, when the railroad was abandoned, the right-of-way was terminated, and the property owner retained ownership. The case concerned a rail …
Powder Run at Deer Valley v. Black Diamond Lodge and Park City
2014 UT App 43 (Click for Full Text of Opinion) Utah Court of Appeals February 21, 2014 This case clarifies the thirty-day limit to appeal a municipal land use decision, as provided in § 801 of LUDMA (The Land Use and Development Management Act, Chapters 10-9a and 17-27a of the Utah Code). In 2001, Black Diamond Lodge proposed to dedicate an easement …
