Reagan v. City of Newport

• Decision Date: 17 April 2012
• Docket Number: No. 2010–428–Appeal.,2010–428–Appeal.
• Citation: 43 A.3d 33
• Parties: Shannon REAGAN et al. v. The CITY OF NEWPORT et al.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

43 A.3d 33

Shannon REAGAN et al.

v.The CITY OF NEWPORT et al.

No. 2010–428–Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

April 17, 2012.

Joseph DeAngelis, Esq., Providence, for Plaintiff.

Joseph J. Nicholson, Jr., Esq., Newport, for Defendant.

Present: SUTTELL, C.J., GOLDBERG, ROBINSON, and INDEGLIA, JJ.

OPINION

Chief Justice SUTTELL, for the Court.

This case arises out of a dispute over real property in the City of Newport (Newport or city). The plaintiffs, Shannon Reagan, William A. Reagan, Terrance Moy, and Margaret Moy, appeal from a judgment in favor of the defendants, Newport and its representatives,¹ on the plaintiffs' action to clear title to a portion of the Washington Street Extension, which is located in Newport. In this appeal, the plaintiffs contend that the trial justice erred in holding that statutory abandonment is the exclusive means by which a municipality may abandon a public highway. This case came before the Supreme Court for oral argument pursuant to an order directing the parties to appear and show cause why the issues raised in this appeal should not summarily be decided. After reviewing the record and considering the parties' written and oral submissions, we are satisfied that this appeal may be decided without further briefing or argument. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court.

IFacts and Procedural History

This case involves a dispute over the portion of the Washington Street Extension abutting plaintiffs' land. The Washington Street Extension initially was established by a resolution of the Board of Aldermen of Newport (board) in 1915, which stated that “it is necessary that a new highway be laid out extending in a northerly direction from the present northerly end of Washington Street to the south side of Cypress Street of a width of about fifty feet.” This resolution sought to take by eminent domain a strip, approximately fifty feet wide, of land passing through several lots of independently owned land along Narragansett Bay.

At the time, Edith Kendall ² owned the land out of which the portion of the WashingtonStreet Extension subject to this litigation was carved.³ After considering Ms. Kendall's opposition to the board's resolution, on December 16, 1915, the board ordered and decreed that the Washington Street Extension “highway be established and laid open by removing all buildings, fences and other impediments therein.” The following year, on December 7, 1916, the board valued Ms. Kendall's parcel at $3,524. Two days later, on December 9, 1916, Ms. Kendall recorded a deed dated October 23, 1916, conveying her portion of the Washington Street Extension ⁴ to Newport, as well as to its “successors and assigns,” for consideration of $3,524. The deed specifically granted: “TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the aforegranted premises, with all the privileges and appurtenances thereto belonging, to the said City of Newport and its successors and assigns, to its and their use and behoof forever for the purpose of a highway only.”

Over the years, Ms. Kendall's remaining property abutting the Washington Street Extension was conveyed in separate parcels. The plaintiffs are the current owners of such property, which consists of six parcels of real estate: specifically, Shannon Reagan owns lot Nos. 354 and 260; William Reagan owns lot Nos. 299 and 300; and Terrance and Margaret Moy own lot Nos. 297 and 298, all on Assessor's Plat No. 9. Each of plaintiffs' parcels consist of a residential lot, as well as a lot fronting Narragansett Bay. The Washington Street Extension separates each bayside lot from its corresponding residential lot.

The Washington Street Extension served as a public highway until the construction of the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (Newport Bridge) in the late 1960s. After construction of the Newport Bridge was completed, the Washington Street Extension became a “dead end” and no longer could function as a public highway. Thereafter, according to plaintiffs, the Washington Street Extension fell into disrepair, becoming an “eyesore” littered with debris, potholes, and overgrown grass and weeds. The plaintiffs also stated that the property had become a hotspot for teenage drinking and “sex parties.” Richard C. Sardella, a former mayor of Newport, similarly testified that the Washington Street Extension was an “eyesore,” and he described it as a “ripped up road, filthy dirty, [and] overgrown.” In contrast, Charles J. Laranjo, a lifetime resident of the city, testified that he had never seen any “inappropriate” activity on the Washington Street Extension, nor had he seen it “dirty.” Instead, Mr. Laranjo stated, it was “a beautiful area” and that he, as well as other members of the public, frequented the area to “enjoy[ ] the views there” and to watch the fireworks.

According to plaintiffs, Newport had not maintained the Washington Street Extension since the Newport Bridge's construction.⁵ The plaintiffs testified that they had performed such maintenance themselves since they began residing on the abutting land. Beginning in 2001, plaintiffs approached Newport, requesting that it formally abandon the property in question or sell it to plaintiffs. On March 12, 2003, the Newport City Council passed a resolution declaring that “[t]he Washington Street [E]xtension so-called, running between Cypress Street and a state highway, has ceased to serve any useful public purpose” and authorizing the sale of the land to the then-abutting property owners. Several months later, on September 10, 2003, however, the city council voted against selling the land.

Thereafter, in July 2004, then-Mayor Sardella and the abutting property owners ⁶ entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which gave the abutters “non-exclusive access to the Washington Street Extension, so-called, to maintain and improve the Washington Street Extension at no cost to the City of Newport.” The MOU also expressly declared that the abutters were not to “exclude any member of the public from using the Washington Street Extension,” as the MOU was “a non-exclusive right to maintain and improve the Washington Street Extension only.” The MOU provided Newport the authority to terminate the agreement “with or without cause on written notice to the ‘abutters' who will cease their maintenance and improvement efforts immediately on receipt of this written notice.” After executing the MOU, plaintiffs expended a large sum of money improving the Washington Street Extension. ⁷ Such improvements included replacing the existing asphalt with loam and grass, as well as reinstalling curbs.

By city council resolution on September 22, 2004, Newport terminated the MOU. The city informed the abutters of its termination on October 19, 2004. Subsequently, on June 22, 2005, plaintiffs filed a complaint seeking to clear title to the Washington Street Extension. Specifically, plaintiffs averred that title to the Washington Street Extension had vested in them, in fee simple, as a result of the city's de facto abandonment of such property. ⁸ After a jury-waived trial, the trial justice issued a bench decision, concluding that the only manner in which a municipality may abandon a highway is through Rhode Island's “Abandonment by Towns” statute, G.L.1956 chapter 6 of title 24 (Abandonment Statute).⁹ Therefore, after the trial justice found it “undisputed that the City of Newport did not and has not abandoned the Washington Street Extension through compliance” with the Abandonment Statute, he denied plaintiffs' contention that the city had abandoned the Washington Street Extension. Final judgment was entered on October 1, 2010. Thereafter, plaintiffs timely filed a notice of appeal.

IIStandard of Review

“It is well settled that ‘[t]his Court will not disturb the findings of a trial justice sitting without a jury unless such findings are clearly erroneous or unless the trial justice misconceived or overlooked material evidence * * *.’ ” Notarantonio v. Notarantonio, 941 A.2d 138, 144 (R.I.2008) (quoting Haydon v. Stamas, 900 A.2d 1104, 1113 (R.I.2006)). “[I]f, on review, the record indicates that competent evidence supports the trial justice[']s findings, we shall not substitute our view of the evidence for his [or hers] even though a contrary conclusion could have been reached.” Id. (quoting Imperial Casualty and Indemnity Co. v. Bellini, 888 A.2d 957, 961 (R.I.2005)). Nevertheless, it is equally well established that “[q]uestions of law * * *, including questions of statutory interpretation, are reviewed de novo by this Court.” Rhode Island Public Telecommunications Authority v. Russell, 914 A.2d 984, 989 (R.I.2007) (quoting Carnevale v. Dupee, 783 A.2d 404, 408 (R.I.2001)).

IIIDiscussion

The plaintiffs argue that the trial justice erred as a matter of law by holding that statutory abandonment is the exclusive manner by which a municipality may abandon a public highway. The plaintiffs assert that “[t]his case presents a novel controversy * * * of first impression for the Court”— viz., whether common-law abandonment by nonuse remains a viable means to abandon a public highway. The plaintiffs submit that common-law abandonment “continues to have vitality today,” as “there is no language in [the Abandonment Statute] that suggests that the legislature intended for that statute to be the exclusive means of abandoning property in this state.” Further, plaintiffs maintain that the Abandonment Statute “is intended to protect the abutters” and, thus, “serves no purpose in the context of this controversy,” where the abutters are seeking to establish abandonment. The plaintiffs contend that this Court should adopt a rule whereby a municipality may abandon a public highway “when a municipality (1) has intent to abandon together with nonuse and (2) has exhibited external acts to put that intention into effect.” To support this contention, plaintiffs point to two cases from other jurisdictions, Ambs v. Kalamazoo...