Facts

The County of Inyo filed an action to quiet title to the right-of-way to Last Chance Road that runs across federal land in the vicinity of Death Valley National Park. The land was taken into the federal wilderness system in 1993.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The County claimed that the little-traveled road was a public county highway by virtue of being taken into the County's maintained mileage system by resolution of the Board of Supervisors in 1948 and by the use of the road by the public since the early 1900's. The County claimed a right of way over federal lands under a now-repealed right-of-way law, which offered rights-of-way for highways constructed over public land.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Conservation groups, who intervened in the suit, opposed the County's claims and supported the National Park Service in the case. The conservation groups (and the Department of the Interior) argued that the County did not clearly accept the offered federal right-of-way or demonstrate extensive public use of the road. The DOI and the conservationists argued that Last Chance Road was not a highway under federal law and therefore the County could not have accepted the offer of a right-of-way.

Result

District Judge Anthony W. Ishii ruled that the County failed to prove that the road in question was taken into the County maintained mileage system prior to 1976 or that the road was a highway, and therefore could not prove it held a right-of-way across the federal land.

Other Information

The Court previously dismissed the action as to three other proposed roads in August of 2008 based on a 12(b)1 motion for lack of subject matter jurisdiction due to statute of limitations issues.