Braxton v. Guillory
| Decision Date | 28 October 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-379.,98-379. |
| Parties | James Larry BRAXTON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Michael GUILLORY, et ux., Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
Errol David Deshotels, Oberlin, for James Larry Braxton.
Carl H. Hanchey, Lake Charles, for Michael Guillory, et ux.
Before YELVERTON, THIBODEAUX and SAUNDERS, JJ.
James Larry Braxton sued Michael and Agnes Guillory for trespass, seeking damages for a road and pipeline over Braxton property and seeking an injunction to enjoin the Guillorys from using the road to access the Guillorys' property. Following a trial on the merits, the district court denied Braxton an injunction and mental anguish damages, granted the Guillorys a servitude of passage, and awarded Braxton $300.00 as compensation for the damage occasioned by the servitude of passage. We find that the evidence provides a reasonable factual basis for the conclusions of the trial court and affirm the judgment and awards granted.
The issues to be decided are:
Michael and Agnes Guillory purchased land on April 22, 1991, from Michael's sister and her husband, the Caesars. The land is located in Allen Parish and borders the City of Oberlin on its north. It is described in part as a 4/7ths undivided interest in a 10-acre tract. This amounts to 5.71 acres, which is the amount of acreage shown on the Guillorys' Assessment Listing generated by the Allen Parish Assessor's Office. The remaining 3/7ths of the 10-acre tract is owned by the heirs of the deceased Mr. Antoine. Mr. Antoine had an old house in the extreme northeast corner of the tract, and he occupied the eastern portion of the 10 acres. Mr. Antoine purchased his land from the Berrys in the 1930's. The Berrys' son, William Berry, age 92 at the time of trial, still owned and resided upon the full 10-acre tract west of the Guillorys. William Berry is the grandfather of Agnes Guillory.
Agnes and Michael Guillory completed the construction of their family dwelling in 1993 which they built near the western border of the tract they purchased in 1991. They believed their interest in the land amounted to a little over half of the 10 acre tract, that their portion would be "coming down the half" of the property, and that their portion would not extend to the Antoine house in the eastern portion of the tract. Hence, Agnes and Michael Guillory were situated on 5.71 acres with Mr. Berry owning the 10 acres to their west and the Antoine heirs owning the 4.29 acres to their east. Moving horizontally from west to east, the total amount of land owned by Mr. Berry, the Guillorys and the Antoine heirs is 20 acres. The 20 acres directly above them was purchased by the plaintiff, James Larry Braxton, on June 1, 1994. Braxton initially harvested and sold hay on his unimproved property. The attached layout (Appendix "A") is a non-scaled adaptation based upon trial testimony and the exhibits of Guillory and Braxton; it represents the court's appreciation of the subject properties.
Running south out of Oberlin and down the western border of the Braxton and the Berry properties is a paved city street called Ninth Street. Running south from Oberlin and down the eastern border of the Braxton property is a gravel road which stops at the Antoine house in the extreme northeast corner of the 10-acre tract belonging to Antoine's heirs and the Guillorys. When the Guillorys built their house they could not get to the gravel road at the eastern corner of Antoine because there is a field in between the Guillory and the Antoine houses. The Guillorys could, however, get to Ninth Street to their west, because there was an old road leading from Ninth Street across the edge of Mr. Berry's property, then along his northern boundary, and along Braxton's southern boundary. The road was the first Oberlin road and at one time extended eastward to Mr. Antoine's house, before its eastern portion was plowed under and turned into a field. The road was first used around the turn of the century by Mr. Berry's parents, surrounding landowners, and the entire town of Oberlin to access houses, saw mills, and a turpentine plant. William Berry and other townspeople drove Model-T's on the road in the 1920's. As stated, Antoine purchased some of the Berry property in the 1930's, built a house in the extreme northeast corner, and drove over the road to his house in his truck.
In the 1940's the landowners signed up for electricity, and Beauregard Electric used the road to put in and maintain power lines and began bush-hogging the road. Agnes Guillory and her brother, Nathan Berry, used the road to go crawfishing and hunting as children. The road continued to be used by sportsmen who drove trucks over it to hunt on the surrounding land. After purchasing his 20 acres in 1994, Braxton himself began using the road, which is partially inside the southern border of his property, to harvest hay on his property. Bailers and purchasers of his hay also used the road. The road has been used by the public for around 100 years. When the Guillorys bought their acreage they began improving the road for better access to their property and the house they were building. Up until that time, the road was still being bush-hogged by Beauregard Electric. In 1992, 1993 and 1994, the Allen Parish Police Jury worked on the road, cleaning out the ditches alongside it, grading it, and putting fill and gravel upon it. Also in 1992 or 1993, the City of Oberlin laid and maintained gas and water lines down the center of the road to the Guillory house, putting fill dirt over the lines on approximately three occasions, the last of which was in 1997 shortly before trial. At some point, the City of Oberlin voted the road into its municipality, named it "City Line Road," and placed a sign bearing that name at the corner of Mr. Berry's property.
Braxton now claims that he wants to subdivide his 20 acres into 34 lots and sell the lots for housing. He complains, however, that the road encroaches on his property and reduces the size of the lots. In 1995, Braxton attempted to fence off the road and informed the Guillorys that they would have to move their gas and water lines and build another road. In 1996, Braxton sued the Guillorys for trespass and sought an injunction to prevent them from using the road. From a judgment denying his injunction and mental anguish claims, but granting him $300.00 in damages, and granting the Guillorys a servitude and right of passage over the road, Braxton appeals.
LAW AND DISCUSSION
An appellate court may not set aside a trial court's or jury's finding of fact in the absence of "manifest error"or unless it is "clearly wrong." Rosell v. ESCO, 549 So.2d 840 (La. 1989).
In order to reverse under the manifest error rule:
Stobart v. State, Through DOTD, 617 So.2d 880, 882 (La.1993).
The defendants, Mr. and Mrs. Guillory, do not assign errors except in the alternative should the judgment of the trial court be reversed. Because we affirm the district court's judgment granting a servitude to the defendants, we need not address the defendants' assertions in the alternative.
James Larry Braxton contends that:
Mr. Braxton first contends that the district court incorrectly concluded that the Guillorys had full ownership of the tract upon which they constructed their house and incorrectly concluded that they owned a 4/7th's interest in the remaining acreage in the 10-acre tract. We find that the evidence in the record provides a reasonable factual basis for a finding of the Guillorys' ownership of the western portion of the 10 acres sufficient to support the trial court's grant of a servitude. However, the trial court incorrectly found that the Guillorys also owned a 4/7ths interest in the eastern portion of the 10 acres. Notwithstanding, the error was harmless. Moreover, our finding that the Guillorys do not own a 4/7ths interest in the eastern portion of the tract reinforces their right of passage to the west, as more fully set forth below.
"Enclosed Estate"
All three of Mr. Braxton's assignments of error revolve around whether the Guillorys' property constitutes an enclosed estate so as to entitle them to a servitude of passage over the Braxton property under La.Civ.Code art. 689. We find no manifest error in the court's judgment and its award of the servitude to the Guillorys. Article 689 of the Louisiana Civil Code provides as follows:
The owner of an estate that has no access to a public road may claim a right of passage over neighboring property to the nearest public road. He is bound to indemnify his neighbor for the damage he may occasion.
The trial court correctly found that the Guillorys...
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