The act is unambiguous in its application to political subdivisions, § 541.023, subd. 1, and has been applied to them, B. W. Leo Harris Co. v. City of Hastings, supra (city's claim to tract of land based on claim of adverse possession barred by the act). It is also clear that the act applies to right-of-way easements. In Wichelman v. Messner, 250 Minn. 88, 103, 83 N.W.2d 800, 814 (1957), we suggested that unregistered right-of-way easements are subject to extinguishment unless brought within the protection of the possession exception, and we have so applied the act in subsequent decisions, Caroga Realty Co. v. Tapper, 274 Minn. 164, 143 N.W.2d 215 (1966); United Parking Stations, Inc. v. Calvary Temple, 257 Minn. 273, 101 N.W.2d 208 (1960). The only exceptions to its pervasive reach are that it may not be invoked against the following classes of persons, as set forth in Wichelman v. Messner, 250 Minn. 88, 112, 83 N.W.2d 800, 819:
Any potential claimant who has not filed the statutorily prescribed notice within 40 years of the creation of its interest "shall be conclusively presumed to have abandoned" any interest it might have had in the property. Minn. Stat. § 541.023, subd. 5. Easements are among the property interests that can be eliminated under the MTA. See, e.g., Caroga Realty Co. v. Tapper, 274 Minn. 164, 177-80, 143 N.W.2d 215, 224-26 (1966). Appellants do not dispute that their easements are more than 40 years old, and they concede that they (and their predecessors in interest) did not file the notice required by the MTA.
This court must take the view of the evidence which is most favorable to the trial court's findings. Caroga Realty Co. v. Tapper, 274 Minn. 164, 169, 143 N.W.2d 215, 220 (1966). Those findings should not be disturbed unless they are "manifestly and palpably contrary to the evidence."
Once extinguished, an easement is not revived or reinstated when referred to in a subsequent conveyance. See Caroga Realty Co. v. Tapper, 274 Minn. 164, 180 n. 3, 143 N.W.2d 215, 226 n. 3 (1966); see also Werner v. Sample, 259 Minn. 273, 275, 107 N.W.2d 43, 44 (1961) (concluding that reference to an extinguished easement does not create or revive an easement, "it presupposes an existing easement"); United Parking Stations, Inc. v. Calvary Temple, 257 Minn. 273, 278, 101 N.W.2d 208, 212 (1960) (holding that a recital in a contract for deed does not reinstate or recreate a previously extinguished easement). Therefore, the extinguished parking easement was not revived as to BSR or its successors simply because the deeds conveying the property mentioned the easement.
We have traditionally accorded great deference to the trial court in making findings of fact, recognizing that much must necessarily be left to its sound judgment and discretion because it has the advantages of fully hearing the testimony and acquiring a thorough familiarity with all the circumstances of the case. Caroga Realty Co. v. Tapper, 274 Minn. 164, 170, 143 N.W.2d 215, 220 (1966). An appellate court cannot judge the credibility of a witness or the weight, if any, to be given to testimony.
And it is clear from caselaw that merely recording the deed by which an easement was created does not satisfy the statutory-notice requirement. See Caroga Realty Co. v. Tapper, 274 Minn. 164, 166, 179-80, 143 N.W.2d 215, 218, 226 (1966) (extinguishing an easement created by a recorded deed). Appellants argue that they are exempt from the MTA under the possession exception, which states that the MTA "shall not . . . bar the rights of any person, partnership, or corporation in possession of real estate."
In Caroga Realty Co. v. Tapper, the Minnesota Supreme Court concluded that possession of the easement in question did not rise to the level required by the Marketable Title Act. Caroga Realty Co. v. Tapper, 274 Minn. 164, 178-79, 143 N.W.2d 215, 225-26 (1966). The court held that the level of possession required by the Marketable Title Act is possession that is "so notorious as to be considered adverse possession."
Therefore, appellants' possession of the property would allow them to escape the presumption of abandonment under subdivision 5 generated by their failure to record their interest. Caroga Realty Co. v. Tapper, 274 Minn. 164, 177, 143 N.W.2d 215, 224-25 (1966). Under Caroga possession
Cf. Peterson v. Johnston, 254 N.W.2d 360, 362 (Minn. 1977) (citing Caroga Realty Co. v. Tapper, 274 Minn. 164, 143 N.W.2d 215 (1966) (reviewing court not required to reverse merely because findings could have been more detailed)). Mitchell Feed Seed relies on Marckel Co. v. Raven, 186 Minn. 125, 242 N.W. 471 (1932), for the proposition that an insubstantial personal benefit suffices to take a promise out of the statute of frauds.
When deciding whether a finding of fact is clearly erroneous, this court takes the view of the evidence which is most favorable to the trial court's findings. Caroga Realty Co. v. Tapper, 274 Minn. 164, 169, 143 N.W.2d 215, 220 (1966). Where two possible meanings exist, both of which are reasonable interpretations based on the evidence, the fact that we might read the language differently than the trial court, without more, is not sufficient to find the trial court's interpretation to be clearly erroneous.