Bliss v. Lassiter, 6571
| Decision Date | 29 December 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 6571,6571 |
| Citation | 545 S.W.2d 571 |
| Parties | Elmer BLISS et ux., Appellants, v. Martin Coker LASSITER, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
This is an appeal of a permanent injunction which enjoined Appellants from moving onto and maintaining a house trailer or mobile home upon a certain lot in Kermit, Texas. We reverse and render.
The Appellants purchased a lot in Memorial Park Subdivision, Kermit, Texas, next to a home owned by the Appellee. The Subdivision had restrictive covenants, one of which provided:
'No trailer, basement, tent, garage or temporary quarters shall at any time be used as a residence on any portion of said Memorial Park Addition.'
The Appellants moved a 12 65 mobile home onto the lot they purchased. They removed the wheels, blocked it up on a foundation, and were in the process of hooking up utilities when this dispute arose.
The Appellee filed suit alleging that a trailer had been moved into the Subdivision in violation of the restrictive covenants and alleged that this resulted in an irreparable injury. Appellee prayed that Appellants be temporarily enjoined from moving a trailer onto their lot, and that on final hearing they be permanently enjoined from such conduct.
At a hearing in February, 1976, the trial Court granted a permanent injunction which enjoined Appellants from moving onto and maintaining a trailer house or mobile home on the lot in question, and ordered a removal of the mobile home previously placed on the lot. Appellants contend that there was no evidence that their mobile home was the type of structure prohibited by the restrictive covenant, and that as a matter of law the prohibition in the covenant was not applicable.
The first Texas case to consider a similar restriction was Crawford v. Boyd, 453 S.W.2d 232 (Tex.Civ.App.--Fort Worth 1970, writ ref'd n.r.e.). In that case, the restrictive covenant prohibited shacks and tents and listed certain lots which were approved for trailer homes. It further provided: "All other lots shall be residence lots only and no trailer homes shall be permitted thereon * * *." The defendant, Boyd, moved a trailer house onto a lot which was not one of those which specifically permitted such units. The trial Court denied plaintiff's request for a mandatory injunction requiring the removal of the trailer house. In affirming, the Court of Civil Appeals noted that the important question for determination was the use that was actually being made of the unit at the time in question, not some possible future use. Basically, the Court followed other decisions which held that once a unit is immobilized and affixed to realty, it is not a portable structure and therefore not a trailer or mobile home.
In Hussey v. Ray, 462 S.W.2d 45 (Tex.Civ.App.--Tyler 1970, no writ), an injunction was sought to enjoin a party from maintaining a mobile home upon a lot in a subdivision where the restrictive covenant provided:
"No trailer, tent, shack, stable or barn shall be placed, erected or be permitted to remain on any lot, nor shall any structure of a temporary character be used at any time as a residence."
In the trial Court, a summary judgment denied the relief sought. The undisputed evidence showed that appellees moved a 12 52 mobile home on their lot, removed the...
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Lassiter v. Bliss
...injunction. The court of civil appeals reversed and rendered the judgment of the trial court and denied Lassiter any relief being sought. 545 S.W.2d 571. We reverse the judgment of the court of civil appeals and affirm the judgment of the trial Bliss purchased lot 13, block 7, in the Memori......