§ 72-5-310. Notice of acknowledgment -- Court determination -- Presumption of acceptance.

(1) The governor or the governor's designee shall provide a copy of the notice of acknowledgement by certified mail and return receipt requested to:

(a) the last known owner of the servient estate in land over which the right-of-way or rights-of-way subject to the notice runs; and

(b) any person known to have a competing dominant estate ownership claim.

(2)

(a) A person with a servient estate or competing dominant estate ownership claim to the right-of-way may petition for a decision of the district court as to the correctness of the acknowledgment of acceptance of the R.S. 2477 grant issued under Section 72-5-309.

(b) Venue for the court action shall be the district court for Salt Lake County.

(c) The petition shall be filed no later than 60 days after the date on which the petitioner received a copy of the notice of acknowledgment.

(d) The state, through the governor or the governor's designee, shall be named as a respondent and served with a copy of the petition in accordance with the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure.

(e) No one other than a person with a servient estate ownership claim in land over which the right-of-way or rights-of-way subject to the notice runs or a competing dominant estate claim may challenge the correctness of a notice of acknowledgment.

(3) The petition for a court decision of the correctness of the notice of acknowledgment shall be a complaint governed by the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure and shall contain:

(a) the petitioner's name and mailing address;

(b) a copy of the notice of acknowledgment the petitioner asserts is incorrect;

(c) a request for relief specifying the type and extent of relief requested; and

(d) a statement of the reasons why the petitioner is entitled to relief.

(4) Except as provided under this Part 3, Rights-Of-Way Across Federal Lands Act, all pleadings and proceedings to determine the correctness of a notice of acknowledgment in the district court are governed by the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure.

(5) The court shall make its decision without deference to the notice of acknowledgment.

(6)

(a) In accordance with Section 72-5-302, a rebuttable presumption that the R.S. 2477 grant has been accepted is created when:

(i) a highway existed on public lands not reserved for public uses as of the cut-off date under Section 72-5-301; and

(ii) the highway currently exists in a condition suitable for public use.

(b) The proponent of the R.S. 2477 status of the highway bears the burden of proving acceptance of the grant by a preponderance of the evidence for all decisions that are not subject to Subsection (6)(a).

Amended by Chapter 9, 2006 General Session