RICHARD OSUCH and BARBARA D. RIVERA, Appellants (Plaintiffs),
v.
DAVID E. GUNNELS and LINDA M. GUNNELS, Appellees (Defendants).
Appeal
from the District Court of Sweetwater County The Honorable
Nena James, Judge
Representing Appellants: Michael W. Stulken, Stulken &
Tynsky, PC, Green River, Wyoming.
Representing Appellees: Danielle M. Mathey and Richard
Mathey, Mathey Law Office, PC, Green River, Wyoming. Argument
by Ms. Mathey.
Before
BURKE, C.J., and HILL, DAVIS, FOX, and KAUTZ, JJ.
BURKE,
CHIEF JUSTICE.
[¶1]
This case involves a dispute between property owners in
Sweetwater County regarding a mistaken property boundary.
Appellants, Richard Osuch and Barbara Rivera, challenge the
district court's ruling that title to a portion of
property formerly owned by their predecessors in interest had
vested in Appellees, David and Linda Gunnels, by adverse
possession. We affirm.
ISSUES
[¶2]
Appellants present the following issue:
Whether the district court erred in concluding that the
Gunnels acquired title to the subject property by adverse
possession.
Appellees
present an additional issue:
Whether Appellees should be awarded attorney's fees and
costs under W.R.A.P 10.05.
FACTS
[¶3]
In 1974, Appellants' parents, Stanley and Wladzia Osuch,
acquired an 80-acre tract of land in Sweetwater County. They
eventually put the land into a trust, and the property passed
to Appellants after Mrs. Osuch's death in 2010. In 2011,
Appellants recorded a quitclaim deed conveying the property
to them as tenants in common.
[¶4]
In 1984, Appellees purchased a forty-acre tract adjacent to
the property owned by Appellants' predecessors in
interest. At the time of the purchase, Appellees moved into
an existing home on the property. Appellees subsequently made
extensive improvements. In the spring of 1985, they
constructed a fence around the property. Appellees determined
the location of the fence based on stakes that were
represented by their realtor to mark the property boundary.
Unbeknown to Appellees, the fenced ...