A Montana HOA's service acknowledgment saved it from a default judgment
A Montana HOA's service acknowledgment saved it from a default judgment
2026-09-15 · Montana · Courts
What happened. A Montana association was served, entered an appearance, then missed its answer deadline and got a default judgment entered against it. The wording of its service acknowledgment is what saved it.
The decision
Bradley v. Yellowstone Trails Ranch Owners' Association, 2026 MT 112, docket DA 25-0473, decided May 26, 2026. Justice Baker wrote for the Court. Published and citable. It affirmed the Sixth Judicial District Court, Park County (Hon. Brenda Gilbert), which had set the default judgment aside.1
The dispute underneath it
Yellowstone Trails Ranch is a 39-lot subdivision in Park County with equestrian areas, open space and a Yellowstone River common area. The plaintiffs bought Tract 38, the subdivision's only agricultural lot, and sought a declaratory judgment terminating that designation so they could develop it residentially. The association opposed, citing developer intent and members' viewshed and open-space concerns.
The instruments are worth noting because they are where the substantive question lives. The Conditions of Subdivision Approval filed with the Department of Environmental Quality state that Lot 38 has “an agricultural exemption which makes that single lot exempt from subdivision review.” The county Certificate of Subdivision Approval allows livestock only on the agricultural lot and lots over 20 acres. And the CC&Rs neither explain the designation nor place additional restrictions on the lot.
The procedural core
An association board member, a Georgia attorney, arranged waiver of service. The association's president signed an acknowledgment stating that the association
“hereby enters its voluntary appearance in this action, and consents to the jurisdiction of the Court”
It was filed March 4, 2025. The association then failed to answer within 21 days, and default judgment was entered.
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Related Montana HOA Topics
- Bradley v. Yellowstone Trails Ranch Owners' Association, 2026 MT 112 (DA 25-0473, May 26, 2026), slip opinion (Montana Judicial Branch document service) ↩
- Dolan v. Ceartin, 2026 MT 73 (DA 25-0190, Apr. 7, 2026), slip opinion — subdivision approval conditions defeating a later implied easement claim ↩
- Waddell v. Studer, 2025 MT 269 — adopting the federal merger rule for interlocutory injunction rulings ↩
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