The owner of Elk Mountain Ranch has officially dropped the last remaining claim in a civil lawsuit concerning corner-crossing trespass. This legal action involved allegations that a Missouri hunter trespassed on his property by stepping onto it from a location far removed from the contested corners.
In documents submitted to the U.S. District Court on June 1, an attorney representing Iron Bar Holdings and Fred Eshelman notified U.S. Chief District Judge Scott Skavdahl of the ranch owner’s decision to withdraw the trespass claim linked to a digital marker referred to as Waypoint 6. This decision eliminates the necessity for a trial that was scheduled for later this month. Eshelman had previously filed suit against four hunters, claiming they trespassed while traversing the airspace above a section of his land. However, Judge Skavdahl ruled last week that the hunters did not engage in trespassing while corner crossing, which involves moving from one parcel of public land to another without stepping on adjacent private property in the checkerboard pattern typical of land ownership in the region.
While Skavdahl’s ruling clears the hunters of trespassing during the corner crossing, it does not prevent Eshelman from appealing the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, an outcome the hunters’ attorney anticipates.
Background of the Trespass Suit and Waypoint 6 Controversy
Initially, the civil suit sought $7.75 million in damages. Iron Bar Holdings and Eshelman claimed that, in addition to violating ranch airspace at several common corners with public land, one of the hunters also set foot on the Carbon County ranch. This particular allegation emerged from the discovery of “Waypoint 6,” a location on Elk Mountain marked by hunter Zach Smith through the digital onX Hunt app. Eshelman’s legal team contended that this waypoint served as evidence of Smith’s presence on the ranch.
However, the hunters asserted that the waypoint could have been created from virtually anywhere. Notably, Waypoint 6 was situated far from any of the corners that the hunters crossed in 2020 and 2021, leading Skavdahl to distinguish the dispute over it from the broader corner-crossing issue.
Although Skavdahl ruled in favor of the hunters regarding corner crossing, he had initially left the Waypoint 6 dispute unresolved, with a trial set to address it later this month. Nevertheless, he indicated that if Eshelman were to succeed in a jury trial concerning Waypoint 6, he would only be entitled to nominal damages, capped at a maximum of $100.
After considering the implications, Eshelman’s attorney Greg Weisz stated, “Plaintiff Iron Bar Holdings, LLC has determined the interest of judicial economy and justice warrant Plaintiff withdrawing the claims related to the Waypoint 6 issue and possible physical surface trespass by any of the Defendants on the Plaintiffs’ real property.” This withdrawal effectively negates the need for a trial on the matter, according to Weisz.
Both parties have also agreed to cover their own attorneys’ fees, although other costs will be subject to Judge Skavdahl’s final ruling on the civil suit and will be limited to what is permitted under court regulations.
Source : https://wyofile.com/ranch-owner-in-corner-crossing-case-drops-waypoint-6-trespass-claim/