US EditionLandowner Looks to Appeal Corner-Crossing Case to U.S. Supreme Court
- Iron Bar Holdings, LLC, owner of Elk Mountain Ranch in Wyoming, lost a 2023 civil trespassing case involving four hunters who corner-crossed the land using a ladder during a 2022 elk hunt and now seeks to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- The conflict centers on differing interpretations of an 1885 law designed to prevent large-scale private takeover of public lands, raising questions about access rights across roughly 8 million acres of "corner-locked" parcels within approximately 300 million acres of checkerboard-patterned land throughout the western United States.
- In March 2023, a unanimous appellate panel within the 10th Circuit ruled that the hunters did not commit trespass as they refrained from physically contacting Iron Bar’s property, referencing legal analysis that included work by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
- Wyoming attorney Ryan Semerad, who represented the hunters, expressed strong confidence that the landowners will definitely seek review of the case by the nation's Supreme Court.
- If the Supreme Court accepts the appeal, it could clarify nationwide rules on corner crossing and trespassing, affecting landowners and public access across multiple Western states, while unsettled law has serious implications for property rights.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Helena Independent Record
Landowner looks to appeal corner-crossing case to U.S. Supreme Court
A Supreme Court ruling would have major implications for checkerboard land in the West.
Landowner looks to appeal civil trespassing case to SCOTUS
The landowner who earlier this year lost a civil trespassing case against four corner-crossing hunters has signalled his intention to appeal the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court.Iron Bar Holdings, LLC, wrote in a request for an extension to file an appeal that the issue “has vast reach, covering a huge portion of the roughly 300 million acres of checkerboard land and affecting landowners throughout the American West.”Iron Bar Holdings controls E…
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Stands by its Position: Corner Crossing is NOT a Crime
Iron Bar Holdings Petitions U.S. Supreme Court to Review Corner Crossing Ruling WASHINGTON, D.C. — Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), North America’s leading public lands advocacy group, is responding today to news that Iron Bar Holdings, LLC will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review the landmark corner crossing case upheld earlier this year by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The case, which affirmed that four Missouri hunters did not…
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