Bowyer v. Wyckoff

All of the parties to this case were co-owners of several tracts of land. Deborah Wyckoff filed this lawsuit against David Bowyer seeking to partition the surface in kind or by sale. Bowyer filed a counterclaim and third-party complaint seeking to partition the surface and/or oil, coal and gas below the surface through partition by allotment or partition by sale. The circuit court granted summary judgment to Wyckoff, finding that Bowyer had not established the statutory elements for a partition by allotment or by sale. The court also denied Bowyer’s request to further amend his third-party complaint. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the circuit court properly found that Bowyer failed to establish his entitlement to partition by allotment or by sale; and (2) the circuit court did not err by denying Bowyer’s request to amend his complaint. View "Bowyer v. Wyckoff" on Justia Law