A Gate Cut Off Access to a Property. How a Wyoming Owner Resolved the Dispute

SHERIDAN, Wyo. — A Sheridan landowner and a neighboring rancher have signed a recorded access agreement, ending a dispute that began when the rancher locked a gate across the only road to her property.

The rancher said the road was a private ranch lane. The landowner said it had served her parcel since the land was homesteaded.

Without the road she could not reach her land to build or to graze leased cattle.

Brenmora Law found a 1950s right-of-way in the county records that had been left out of later deeds, and used it as the basis for negotiation.

The parties recorded an access agreement giving her a key, shared road maintenance and a defined route.

No money changed hands. She agreed to keep the gate closed to protect livestock.

Old rights-of-way are sometimes missing from recent deeds, so a full title search can change the outcome of an access dispute.