Binkley v. Rabon Creek Watershed Conserv., No. 3411.
| Court | Court of Appeals of South Carolina |
| Writing for the Court | GOOLSBY. |
| Citation | 558 S.E.2d 902,348 S.C. 58 |
| Decision Date | 19 November 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 3411. |
| Parties | Robert W. BINKLEY and Susan B. Binkley, Respondents, v. RABON CREEK WATERSHED CONSERVATION DISTRICT OF FOUNTAIN INN, South Carolina, Appellant. Robert W. Binkley and Susan B. Binkley, Respondents, v. John Burry; Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, LLP; Donald A. Harper; Greenville County; and Fant Engineering & Surveying Co., Inc., Defendants, and Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, LLP, Third-Party Plaintiff, v. Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina, Appellant. John N. Lopresti and Janice M. Lopresti, Plaintiffs, v. John Burry, Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina, Everette H. Babb, Fredrick E. Landrith, Landrith Surveying, Inc., and Greenville County, Defendants. Steven W. McConnell, Plaintiff, v. John Burry, Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina, and T.H. Walker, Jr., Defendants. David Hearn and Debbie Hearn, Plaintiffs, v. Timothy Farr, John Burry, and the County of Greenville, South Carolina, Defendants. Robert W. Binkley and Susan B. Binkley, Respondents, v. John Burry; Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, LLP; Donald A. Harper; Greenville County; and Fant Engineering & Surveying Co., Inc., Defendants, and Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, LLP, Third-Party Plaintiff, v. Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina, Appellant. Mitchell and Rebecca King and Arlin and Maxine Verley, Plaintiffs, v. John Burry, Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina; The United States of America; The United States Department of Agriculture; The County of Laurens; The Laurens Soil and Water Conservation District; The County of Greenville; and The Greenville County Soil and Water Conservation District, Defendants, of whom John Burry and Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina are Appellants, and John N. Lopresti, Janice M. Lopresti, Steven W. McConnell, David Hearn, Debbie Hearn, T.H. Walker, Jr., Timothy Farr, Robert W. Binkley, Susan B. Binkley, Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, LLP, Donald A. Harper, Mitchell and Rebecca King and Arlin and Maxine Verley are Respondents. |
348 S.C. 58
558 S.E.2d 902
v.
RABON CREEK WATERSHED CONSERVATION DISTRICT OF FOUNTAIN INN, South Carolina, Appellant.
Robert W. Binkley and Susan B. Binkley, Respondents,
v.
John Burry; Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, LLP; Donald A. Harper; Greenville County; and Fant Engineering & Surveying Co., Inc., Defendants, and
Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, LLP, Third-Party Plaintiff,
v.
Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina, Appellant.
John N. Lopresti and Janice M. Lopresti, Plaintiffs,
v.
John Burry, Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina, Everette H. Babb, Fredrick E. Landrith, Landrith Surveying, Inc., and Greenville County, Defendants.
Steven W. McConnell, Plaintiff,
v.
John Burry, Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina, and T.H. Walker, Jr., Defendants.
David Hearn and Debbie Hearn, Plaintiffs,
v.
Timothy Farr, John Burry, and the County of Greenville, South Carolina, Defendants.
Robert W. Binkley and Susan B. Binkley, Respondents,
v.
John Burry; Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, LLP; Donald A. Harper; Greenville County; and Fant Engineering & Surveying Co., Inc., Defendants, and
Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard,
Page 59
LLP, Third-Party Plaintiff,v.
Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina, Appellant.
Mitchell and Rebecca King and Arlin and Maxine Verley, Plaintiffs,
v.
John Burry, Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina; The United States of America; The United States Department of Agriculture; The County of Laurens; The Laurens Soil and Water Conservation District; The County of Greenville; and The Greenville County Soil and Water Conservation District, Defendants of whom John Burry and Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn, South Carolina are Appellants, and
John N. Lopresti, Janice M. Lopresti, Steven W. McConnell, David Hearn, Debbie Hearn, T.H. Walker, Jr., Timothy Farr, Robert W. Binkley, Susan B. Binkley, Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, LLP, Donald A. Harper, Mitchell and Rebecca King and Arlin and Maxine Verley are Respondents
No. 3411.
Court of Appeals of South Carolina.
Heard October 3, 2001.
Decided November 19, 2001.
Rehearing Denied February 6, 2002.
David L. Thomas, of Greenville, for David Hearn and Debbie Hearn; Michael S. Chambers, of Greenville; and Keith M. Babcock, of Lewis, Babcock & Hawkins, of Columbia, both for John N. Lopresti, Janice M. Lopresti, Robert W. Binkley and Susan B. Binkley; Samuel W. Outten, of Leatherwood, Walker, Todd & Mann, of Greenville, for Timothy Farr; H.W. Pat Pascal, Jr., of Miller & Paschal, of Greenville, for Steven W. McConnell, Mitchell and Rebecca King, Arlin and Maxine Verley; John E. Johnston, of Leatherwood, Walker, Todd & Mann, of Greenville, for Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, LLP; H. Michael Spivey, of Mauldin, for T.H. Walker, Jr.; Donald A. Harper; and N. Heyward Clarkson, of Clarkson, Fortson, Walsh & Rheney, both of Greenville, for Donald A. Harper, respondents.
William G. Walsh, of Simpsonville, for defendant Fant Engineering & Surveying Co., Inc.; John W. Howard, III, for defendant Fredrick E. Landrith, and W. Howard Boyd, Jr., of Gibbs, Gallivan, White & Boyd, for defendant Greenville County, both of Greenville; and Alexander Cruickshanks, IV, of Clinton, for defendant, Laurens County.
In this declaratory judgment action to determine the extent and enforceability of an easement, Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District of Fountain Inn1 (Rabon Creek) appeals the grant of a Rule 60(b)(5) motion vacating the final order in Binkley v. Rabon Creek (Binkley I) and the consolidation of Binkley I with Binkley v. Burry (Binkley II) and the other present actions.
Rabon Creek further appeals, inter alia, the trial court's ruling in the consolidated case that it was equitably estopped from enforcing an easement against Respondents Robert and Susan Binkley, David and Debbie Hearn, John and Janice LoPresti, Steven McConnell, Mitchell and Rebecca King, and Arlin and Maxine Verley (referred to collectively as the Homeowners).
The secondary Appellant, John Burry, appeals the trial court's findings: 1) the easement extended to the top of the dam; 2) the Homeowners did not have notice of the easement; and 3) Rabon Creek may enforce the easement against Burry but not against the Homeowners. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
FACTUAL/PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In the summer of 1976 John Burry bought 172 acres of land from the Gray family. Burry paid $650 an acre for the land known as tract 34. Two months later three men representing the Rabon Creek Watershed Conservation District asked Burry if he would sign an easement for the construction of a dam and the impoundment of water to create Lake Beulah. Burry signed the agreement in October 1976. Rabon Creek duly recorded the easement.
After the dam was built, the resulting lake covered part of tract 34. Burry subdivided the remaining property into lots and sold lakefront lots for approximately $20,000 an acre.
On Friday, August 25, 1995, it began to rain. Homeowner Steve McConnell awoke around 4:00 a.m. to discover the LoPresti's home next door was flooding.
The water reached McConnell's home around 5:30 a.m. McConnell ultimately had five feet of water on his first floor. Like McConnell and the LoPrestis, the other Homeowners in this action all experienced flooding from this storm.
After the flood, the Homeowners filed individual actions against parties including: John Burry, Rabon Creek, land surveyors, and their respective closing attorneys.3
In June 1996 the Binkleys filed an action against Rabon Creek alleging the easement did not give Rabon Creek the right to flood their property and seeking, inter alia, declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent Rabon Creek from flooding the property in the future.
Rabon Creek and the Binkleys moved for summary judgment on the interpretation of the easement. In December 1996 Judge Kittredge granted summary judgment to Rabon Creek, finding it held an easement extending to the top of the dam. Judge Kittredge's order stated the parties consented to dismiss all remaining claims and defenses with prejudice and to waive the right to appeal the order.
The Binkleys subsequently filed Binkley II in which they named John Burry, Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard
In August 1997 the Binkleys moved to set aside Judge Kittredge's order in Binkley I pursuant to Rule 60(b)(5), SCRCP, arguing it was no longer equitable that the judgment should have prospective application and inconsistent and inequitable results and consequences could occur if they were not granted relief. Judge Kittredge denied the motion.
In December 1997 the Binkleys moved for reconsideration. On October 2, 1998, Judge Kittredge granted the motion. He set aside the judgment in Binkley I and consolidated Binkley I with Binkley II. Rabon Creek appeals this order.
In the combined actions, Judge Kittredge granted summary judgment regarding the existence of an easement but denied summary judgment regarding the scope of the easement and the affirmative defenses to its enforcement, including equitable estoppel.
Following a non-jury trial solely on the extent and enforceability of the easement, the trial court held: 1) the language of the easement was ambiguous, but other evidence demonstrated the parties intended for the easement to extend to the top of the dam; 2) the Homeowners did not have actual or constructive knowledge that Rabon Creek claimed an easement to the top of the dam; and 3) Rabon Creek was equitably estopped from enforcing the easement against the Homeowners. The trial court found the Homeowners relied upon Rabon Creek's silence in purchasing or constructing homes within the flood plain and Rabon Creek "acted recklessly in willfully failing to conduct the mandated inspections."
The trial court, however, permitted Rabon Creek to enforce the easement against Burry finding "[Burry's] testimony was not credible, and it conflicted with the credible evidence regarding the purpose of Lake Beulah in the overall project." Rabon Creek and Burry appeal.
I.
Rabon Creek contends the language of the recorded document creating the easement clearly and unambiguously extends the easement to the top of the dam. Burry argues the easement only extended to a fifteen-foot buffer area around the lake and did not extend to the top of the dam.
The scope of an easement is an equitable matter in which a reviewing court may take its own view of a preponderance of the evidence.4 The language of an easement determines its extent.5 "Clear and unambiguous language in grants of easement must be construed according to terms which parties have used, taken, and understood in [the] plain, ordinary, and popular sense."6 We must first decide if the language used by the grant here is plain and unambiguous and, if so, what does that language mean.
We agree with Rabon Creek. The language in question is clear and unambiguous. But does that language extend the easement to the top of the...
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