Rocky Mountain Turbines, Inc. v. 660 Syndicate, Inc. (1981)

Citation: 623 P.2d 758 (Wyo. 1981) · Court: Supreme Court of Wyoming, No. 5368 · Decided: February 4, 1981 · Opinion: Rooney, J.

Source note (2026-10-18):

• Links on this page to https://static.case.law/p2d/623/cases/0758-01.json are an (unofficial Caselaw Access Project copy, retrieved before 2026-10-18; host disallows automated access); no official or otherwise permitted full-text copy was located on 2026-10-18.

Opinion text retrieved 2026-10-17 from the Caselaw Access Project’s static copy of the Pacific Reporter (static.case.law, P.2d volume 623), an unofficial host.

Facts

The 660 Syndicate leased a DeHavilland Twin Otter aircraft to Wyoming Airlines, which was responsible for maintenance. Rocky Mountain Turbines and Wyoming Central Aero-Ways repaired the aircraft at the airline’s request and returned it to the airline, which flew it. No lien statement was filed. After the owner terminated the lease for unpaid rent, Rocky Mountain regained possession of the aircraft and refused to release it, claiming a mechanic’s lien under W.S. 29-7-101 (1977). The owner sued in replevin; it had offered a cash or surety bond in double the claim, which was refused, and lost a USD 20,000-per-month lease to the government of Haiti.

Holding

Affirmed for the owner. The chapter 7 lien is possessory: it “terminates upon the ‘voluntary surrender of possession’ unless ‘a lien statement has previously been filed.‘” Rocky Mountain’s lien ended when it gave the aircraft back to the airline, and “a subsequent obtaining of possession of the aircraft does not restore the terminated lien.” The repairer was liable for USD 60,000 in lost profits for wrongful detention, and its unjust-enrichment claims against the owner failed because the lease made the airline responsible for the repairs.

Reasoning

• The text of W.S. 29-7-102 to 29-7-104 (1977) ties the lien to possession; the court called the statutes “too plain and unambiguous to require further discussion.”
• It followed earlier Wyoming decisions on agisters’ and repairers’ liens (Fein v. Wyoming Loan & Trust Co., 1890; Nebraska Machinery Co. v. Schoenheit Trucking Co., 1956) and the common-law rule that a lien lost by voluntary surrender is not revived by retaking possession.
• Damages for wrongful detention could be measured by an established, net lost lease.

Practical impact

• Aircraft and equipment buyers: a repairer’s lien on an aircraft that has flown away from the shop without a filed lien statement is gone; a later detention or sale based on it is wrongful.
• Repairers and hangar operators: file the lien statement before releasing the aircraft, or keep possession.
• Owners: a repairer holding property on a terminated lien is exposed to replevin and lost-profit damages.

Good-law status

Still good law as of 2026-10-17; quoted and followed in McTiernan v. Jellis, 2013 WY 151. The statute has since been amended: a lien statement may now be filed with the county clerk before voluntary release, and within 30 days after possession is lost involuntarily, and the termination periods are now 180 days (W.S. 29-7-102(c)–(d), 29-7-104, text retrieved from wyoleg.gov 2026-10-17).

Rechecked 2026-10-18 against the full CAP opinion: later Wyoming decisions located through CourtListener include McTiernan v. Jellis (2013), which follows it, and Tallichet v. Jackson Hole Community Radio, 2026 WY 56 (read from the Judicial Branch’s official opinion PDF), which cites it only for the equitable nature of unjust enrichment. No negative treatment was found; this is not a commercial citator check.

Applies in →

wyoming · aircraft-mechanics-liens-and-non-judicial-sales · towing-storage-and-mechanics-lien-sales · mctiernan-v-jellis-2013