Wildflower Community Assoc. v. Rinderknecht

• Decision Date: 02 May 2000
• Citation: 25 S.W.3d 530
• Parties: (Mo.App. W.D. 2000) Wildflower Community Association, Inc., a Not for Profit Corporation of the State of Missouri, Respondent, v. Sid and Marcia Rinderknecht and Rinderknecht, Ltd., Appellant. WD55705 0
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

25 S.W.3d 530 (Mo.App. W.D. 2000)

Wildflower Community Association, Inc., a Not for Profit Corporation of the State of Missouri, Respondent, v. Sid and Marcia Rinderknecht and Rinderknecht, Ltd., Appellant.

WD55705

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District

05/02/2000

Appeal From: Circuit Court of Putnam County, Hon. James T. Holcomb

Counsel for Appellant: Ronald F. Fisk

Counsel for Respondent: Kendall R. Vickers

Opinion Summary: Sid and Marcia Rinderknecht and Rinderknecht, Ltd., appeal from the trial court's judgment ordering them to remove a driveway they built over a common area owned by the Wildflower Community Association, Inc., ordering them to restore the common area to the condition it was prior to the driveway's construction, and enjoining them from constructing a roadway to their property over the common area.

Division Four holds: (1) The trial court did not err in construing the covenants and easements to require a member of the Association to obtain permission to build on a common area, under the plain and ordinary meaning of the covenants' and easements' language.

(2) The trial court did not err in finding that the Rinderknechts did not have permission to construct their driveway over the common area, as such a finding was not against the weight of the evidence. The building permit itself does not establish whether the Committee approved the building of the proposed driveway, and two of the three Committee members who signed the building permit testified that they did not intend to approve the building of a driveway over a common area.

Patricia Breckenridge, Chief Judge

Sid and Marcia Rinderknecht and Rinderknecht, Ltd., appeal from the trial court's judgment ordering them to remove a driveway they built over a common area owned by the Wildflower Community Association, Inc. (Association), in the Spring Beauty Addition to the Wildflower Subdivision at Lake Thunderhead. The judgment also orders the Rinderknechts to restore the common area to the condition it was prior to construction of the driveway. Finally, the judgment enjoins them from constructing or maintaining a roadway of any type from the public road to their property that crosses over the common area. On appeal, the Rinderknechts argue that the judgment is against the weight of the evidence and the trial court erroneously interpreted the covenants and easements to require permission to build on a common area. Because a member of the Association must have permission to build on a common area, and the trial court's finding that the Rinderknechts did not have permission to build their driveway over a common area was not against the weight of the evidence, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Facts and Procedural Background

The Wildflower Subdivision is located in Putnam County, Missouri. On July 17, 1982, Marcia Rinderknecht bought Lot 256 in the Spring Beauty Addition to the Wildflower Subdivision. On June 1, 1989, Rinderknecht, Ltd., purchased Lot 255 of the Spring Beauty Addition. The purchased lots are subject to the "Second Amended Restated Declarations of Restrictions, Covenants and Easements" (Declaration) declared by the Wildflower Community Association and recorded in the Putnam County Recorder of Deeds Office. The Wildflower Community Association owns common areas that are subject to restrictions stated in the Declaration. One such common area is Common Area No. 1, which abuts Lots 255 and 256. Common Area No. 1 is a "vegetative area" between Wildflower Drive and Lots 255 and 256. In addition to common areas, the Spring Beauty Addition includes roads owned by the Wildflower Community Association that are dedicated for public use.

On July 5, 1996, the Rinderknechts requested permission from the Wildflower Architectural and Environmental Control Committee (Committee) to construct a residence on their lots in the subdivision. The Committee used a building permit form to obtain the required information from the homeowner and to record its approval of the construction plan. The form included a line for describing proposed associated structures, such as driveways or garages. The form also allowed for the attachment of floor plans, lot layouts, or other documents demonstrating the proposed work. When filling out their proposed building permit, the Rinderknechts did not list a driveway as an associated structure, although they did include a proposed garage. Attached to their permit was a lot layout, which included a proposed driveway that passed over Common Area No. 1 connecting their lots to Wildflower Drive. Also on July 5, 1996, the Rinderknechts sent a letter to the Wildflower Community Association Board of Directors (Board) requesting permission to build the driveway across the common area or, alternatively, to purchase the common area abutting their lots. On July 7, 1996, the Committee approved the building permit submitted by the Rinderknechts. At the Wildflower Community Association Board meeting held July 12, 1996, the Board denied the Rinderknechts' request to construct a driveway across the common area.

On August 9, 1996, and again on November 3, 1996, the Rinderknechts met with the Board regarding the driveway. The Board did not approve the request to build the driveway across the easement, nor did it agree to sell the common area to the Rinderknechts. In a letter dated September 8, 1996, the Committee requested that the Rinderknechts resubmit the lot layout without the driveway. The Rinderknechts complied. However, sometime in April of 1997, the Rinderknechts began construction and use of a driveway over Common Area No. 1, which connected their property to the public road, Wildflower Drive.

On April 29, 1997, the Wildflower Community Association filed suit against the Rinderknechts asking that the court issue an injunction preventing the Rinderknechts from using, maintaining or constructing the driveway over Common Area No. 1. On May 16, 1997, the Committee wrote a letter to the Rinderknechts stating that it did not intend to grant them permission to build a driveway, that the Committee did not have the authority to grant such permission, and that if the Rinderknechts had understood the building permit to include permission to build the driveway over the common area, the Committee was thereby revoking any such permission.

The case was tried before the court in equity. On December 17, 1997, the trial court issued its judgment concluding that the Committee did not grant the Rinderknechts permission to construct the driveway. In its conclusions of law, the trial court found that the Wildflower Community Association owned Common Area No. 1, that the Rinderknechts had a right to the use and enjoyment of that area, but not a greater right than the other owners and members of the Wildflower Community Association. The court further found that building a driveway over the common area was a breach of the covenants and restrictions imposed on the parcels of land and, finally, that "[e]ven if it is believed a committee granted some permission for this construction and maintenance, it was without authority and permission to do so and such permission would be invalid." Therefore, the court ordered the Rinderknechts to remove the driveway and permanently enjoined them from using the common area for a driveway.

The Rinderknechts subsequently filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied by the trial court. In its order denying the Rinderknechts' request for a new trial, the court stated, "It is the court's belief that the intent of the dedicated common areas are for the benefit of all property owners and that parceling out portions to the sole benefit of individual owners defeats the generally accepted philosophy of common areas." The Rinderknechts filed this appeal.

Standard of Review

Appellate review of a court-tried civil case is governed by Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30 (Mo. banc 1976). The decision of the trial court must be affirmed unless there is no substantial evidence to support the decision, the decision is against the weight of the evidence, or the decision erroneously declares or applies the law. Id. at 32. This court defers to the trial court's factual findings, as the trial court is in a superior position to determine the credibility of witnesses. Custom Muffler and Shocks, Inc. v. Gordon Partnership, 3 S.W.3d 811, 817 (Mo. App. 1999). The evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom must be viewed in the light most favorable to the trial court's judgment, and all contrary evidence and inferences must be disregarded. Lance v. Lance, 979 S.W.2d 245, 248 (Mo. App. 1998).

Points on Appeal

On appeal, the Rinderknechts first argue that the trial court's finding that the Committee did not grant them permission to build the driveway was against the weight of the evidence. In their second point, the Rinderknechts claim that the trial court misconstrued the law when it ruled that building a driveway over the common area was a violation of the Declaration. In resolving these claims of error, this court must determine (1) whether the Declaration authorizes an owner to construct a structure on a common area and, if so, under what conditions, and (2) whether the weight of the evidence compels a finding that the Rinderknechts met those conditions. These issues will be determined in this order, rather than in the order of the Rinderknechts' points relied on.

Declaration Authorizes Member to Construct an Associated Structure on Common Area with Permission

The Rinderknechts claim that the trial court erred in its construction of the covenants and restrictions in the Declaration. The Rinderknechts argue that the Declaration grants every member of the Wildflower Community Association "a right and easement of use and enjoyment in and to the common areas and common facilities," subject to certain restrictions. Under the Rinderknechts' interpretation of the covenants, building the driveway over...