The Montana Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court ruling in favor of an out-of-state couple seeking to complete the purchase of a 156-acre property near Missoula known as Marshall Mountain, handing a legal defeat to the sellers who ultimately transferred the land to a local nonprofit instead.
Background on the Dispute
The case stretches back to 2021, when a Missoula hospital recruited Spencer Melby to relocate from Missouri. Melby and his wife Colette moved to pursue the purchase of Marshall Mountain, a property east of Missoula that Bruce and Kim Doering had owned since 1995.
The transaction unraveled after the Doerings sent the Melbys a revised contract for deed on May 16, 2021, that included new language regarding public access to the land. That contractual dispute eventually wound its way through the courts, with the Melbys arguing the Doerings had materially breached an enforceable agreement. While the case was pending, the Doerings sold Marshall Mountain to a Missoula nonprofit, meaning the property is now open to the public.
The Court’s Ruling
Justice Beth Baker delivered the court’s opinion on June 2, joined by four other justices with no dissents. The unanimous decision upheld the district court’s conclusion that the buy-sell agreement and its amendment formed a binding, independently enforceable contract — and that the Doerings had broken it.
“Because we hold that the Buy-Sell and Amendment constituted an independently enforceable agreement, and the Melbys do not otherwise challenge the District Court’s conclusions, we do not disturb the District Court’s determinations that Doerings materially breached and that Melbys were injured,” Baker wrote in the opinion.
The case will now return to Missoula County District Court, where a judge will determine what damages the Melbys are owed as a result of the breach.
Reaction
Bob Baldwin of Baldwin Law Firm in Bozeman, who represented the Melbys, expressed satisfaction with the outcome. “It was gratifying that the Supreme Court saw fit to affirm the District Court’s decision,” he said.
The Doerings had previously won the right to appeal after the district court granted only partial judgment to the Melbys, allowing the dispute to continue through the appellate process before the state’s highest court settled the matter.
Broader Context
Marshall Mountain has a long history as a ski and recreation area in the Missoula region. Although the land is now publicly accessible following its transfer to a nonprofit, the legal question of whether the Doerings breached their prior agreement with the Melbys remained alive in the courts — and Tuesday’s ruling means financial consequences could still follow despite the property having changed hands.
The case drew attention partly because of its unusual facts: a recruited physician relocating from out of state, a property with deep local significance, and a seller who ultimately chose a different buyer before litigation concluded. With the damages phase now pending before the district court, the Doerings face continued legal exposure even though the land itself has long since been conveyed.
Property contract disputes of this kind occasionally reach the Montana Supreme Court, but the unanimous nature of the ruling — and the absence of any dissent — signals the justices found the lower court’s reasoning on the contract’s enforceability to be well grounded. The Montana judiciary has seen several notable appointments and confirmation proceedings in recent months, including the Senate’s confirmation of Bozeman attorney Katie Lane to the Montana federal bench.
The damages determination before the Missoula County District Court does not have a publicly announced timeline, and the scope of any award will depend on how the court values the Melbys’ losses from the failed transaction.
