2010 Wyoming Statutes
Title 1 - Code Of Civil Procedure
Chapter 37 - Declaratory Judgments

CHAPTER 37 - DECLARATORY JUDGMENTS

 

1-37-101. Short title

 

"This act" means W.S. 1-37-101 through 1-37-114 and may be cited as the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act.

 

1-37-102. Scope and general consideration.

 

Courts of record within their respective jurisdictions may declare rights, status and other legal relations whether or not further relief is or could be claimed. No proceeding is open to objection on the ground that a declaratory judgment or decree is prayed for. The declaration may be either affirmative or negative in form and effect, and such declarations shall have the effect of a final judgment.

 

1-37-103. Right of interested party to have determination made.

 

Any person interested under a deed, will, written contract or other writings constituting a contract, or whose rights, status or other legal relations are affected by the Wyoming constitution or by a statute, municipal ordinance, contract or franchise, may have any question of construction or validity arising under the instrument determined and obtain a declaration of rights, status or other legal relations.

 

1-37-104. Contract may be construed at any time.

 

A contract may be construed either before or after there has been a breach thereof.

 

1-37-105. Fiduciary's rights to be construed.

 

(a) Any person interested as or through an executor, administrator, trustee, guardian or other fiduciary, creditor, devisee, legatee, heir, next of kin, or beneficiary of a trust, in the administration of a trust, or of the estate of a decedent, a minor or person under legal disability, may have a declaration of rights or other legal relations in respect thereto:

 

(i) To ascertain any class of creditors, devisees, legatees, heirs, next of kin or others;

 

(ii) To direct the executors, administrators or trustees to do or abstain from doing any particular act in their fiduciary capacity; or

 

(iii) To determine any question arising in the administration of the estate or trust, including questions of construction of wills and other writings.

 

1-37-106. Adjudication of water rights.

 

(a) The state of Wyoming upon the relation of the attorney general may institute an action to have determined in a general adjudication the nature, extent, and relative priority of the water rights of all persons in any river system and all other sources, provided:

 

(i) For the purposes of this section:

 

(A) The term "general adjudication" shall mean the judicial determination or establishment of the extent and priority of the rights to use water of all persons on any river system and all other sources within the state of Wyoming. The court conducting such a general adjudication shall:

 

(I) Certify to the state board of control those legal and factual issues which the court deems appropriate for the board to determine. Upon such certification, the board shall exercise those powers and follow those procedures set forth in Rule 53 of the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure;

 

(II) Confirm those rights evidenced by previous court decrees, or by certificates of appropriation, or by certificates of construction heretofore issued by the Wyoming state board of control;

 

(III) Determine the status of all uncancelled permits to acquire the right to the use of the water of the state of Wyoming and adjudicate all perfected rights thereunder not theretofore adjudicated under W.S. 41-4-511;

 

(IV) Determine the extent and priority date of and adjudicate any interest in or right to use the water of the river system and all other sources not otherwise represented by the aforedescribed decrees, certificates, or permits;

 

(V) Establish, in whatever form determined to be most appropriate by the court, one or more tabulations or lists of all water rights and their relative priorities on the river system and all other sources.

 

(B) The word "person" shall be construed to mean an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a municipality, the state of Wyoming, the United States of America, or any other legal entity, public or private.

 

(ii) When the potential defendants number one thousand (1,000) or more, personal service of a summons and complaint shall not be required and (A) the court shall order that the clerk obtain service on known potential defendants by mailing a court-approved notice of the action by certified mail, return receipt requested, and (B) the court shall order that the clerk obtain service on all unknown parties by publication of said notice for four (4) consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in each of the counties within which interests in and rights to the use of water may be affected by the adjudication. If there is no newspaper in one (1) or more of said counties, then publication for such counties shall be in one (1) or more newspapers published in the state, and of general circulation within said counties. If publication is in a daily newspaper, one (1) insertion a week shall be sufficient;

 

(iii) The complaint for such a general adjudication shall be captioned: "In re the General Adjudication of All Rights to Use Water in the .... River System and All Other Sources, State of Wyoming";

 

(iv) When the water rights to be determined are located in more than one (1) county, the general adjudication may be brought in any of the counties.

 

1-37-107. Enumeration not exclusive.

 

The enumeration in W.S. 1-37-103 through 1-37-106 does not limit or restrict the exercise of the general powers conferred in W.S. 1-37-102 in any proceeding where declaratory relief is sought, in which a judgment or decree will terminate the controversy or remove an uncertainty.

 

1-37-108. Discretionary power retained by court.

 

The court may refuse to render a declaratory judgment where the judgment would not terminate the uncertainty or controversy giving rise to the proceeding.

 

1-37-109. Review.

 

Final orders and judgments entered in declaratory judgment proceedings may be reviewed as in other civil actions.

 

1-37-110. Supplemental relief.

 

Further relief based on a declaratory judgment may be granted. Application therefor shall be by petition to a court having jurisdiction to grant the relief. If the application is sufficient the court, on reasonable notice, shall require any adverse party whose rights have been adjudicated by the declaratory judgment to show cause why further relief should not be granted.

 

1-37-111. Determination of issues of fact.

 

When a declaratory judgment proceeding involves the determination of an issue of fact, the issue may be tried and determined as in other civil actions.

 

1-37-112. Costs.

 

The court may award costs in any proceeding as seem equitable and just.

 

1-37-113. Parties generally; proceedings involving validity of ordinance or franchise.

 

When declaratory relief is sought, all persons shall be made parties who have or claim any interest which would be affected by the declaration, and no declaration shall prejudice the rights of persons not parties to the proceeding. In any proceeding which involves the validity of a municipal ordinance or franchise, the municipality shall be made a party and may be heard. If the statute, ordinance or franchise is alleged to be unconstitutional, the attorney general of the state shall be served with a copy of the proceeding and may be heard.

 

1-37-114. Construction of chapter.

 

The Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act is remedial. Its purpose is to settle and to afford relief from uncertainty and insecurity with respect to legal relations, and is to be liberally construed and administered.

 

1-37-115. Provisions severable.

 

The provisions of the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act are independent and severable. The invalidity of one (1) provision shall not affect or render the remainder of the act invalid.