Cain v. William J. Huff II Revocable Tr. Declaration Dated June 28, 2011

• Docket Number: 22A-PL-1258
• Decision Date: 31 July 2023
• Parties: Michael O. Cain and Linda A. Raymond et al., Appellants-Plaintiffs and Counterclaim Defendants, v. William J. Huff II Revocable Trust Declaration Dated June 28, 2011, and Nicole E. Huff Revocable Trust Declaration, Dated June 28, 2011, Appellees-Defendants and Third-party Plaintiffs
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

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Michael O. Cain and Linda A. Raymond et al., Appellants-Plaintiffs and Counterclaim Defendants,
v.
William J. Huff II Revocable Trust Declaration Dated June 28, 2011, and Nicole E. Huff Revocable Trust Declaration, Dated June 28, 2011, Appellees-Defendants and Third-party Plaintiffs

No. 22A-PL-1258

Court of Appeals of Indiana

July 31, 2023

Appeal from the Monroe Circuit Court The Honorable Holly M. Harvey, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 53C06-1804-PL-755

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANTS MICHAEL O. CAIN AND LINDA A. RAYMOND

Todd G. Relue Ryan T. Leagre Plews Shadley Racher &Braun LLP Indianapolis, IN

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT TAMMY JO SEXTON-TROY

Darla S. Brown Sturgeon &Brown, PC Bloomington, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES WILLIAM J. HUFF II REVOCABLE TRUST DECLARATION DATED JUNE 28, 2011, AND NICOLE E. HUFF REVOCABLE TRUST DECLARATION, DATED JUNE 28, 2011

Tammy L. Ortman Lewis &Kappes, P.C. Indianapolis, Indiana

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OPINION

KENWORTHY, JUDGE

Case Summary

[¶1] Trusts for William and Nicole Huff (collectively, "Huffs") own a parcel of land abutting a neighborhood called The Shores. This parcel-which we call the THR Parcel-comes with certain appurtenant easement rights to cross The Shores. After the Huffs obtained the THR Parcel, they obtained an adjacent tract, which we call the Chumley Parcel. Eventually, litigation arose concerning the scope of the Huffs' easement rights with respect to both parcels.

[¶2] Below, the Huffs sought partial summary judgment, requesting a declaration "the Huffs are entitled to use the [e]asement[s] to access the Huffs' [p]roperty, including both the THR Property and the Chumley Parcel, as long as [the] Huffs do not intensify the [e]asement[s]." Cain App. Vol. 2 at 154. The trial court granted the Huffs' motion. In doing so, the court included language suggesting there is no longer delineation between the THR Parcel and the Chumley Parcel, which renders the declaratory judgment broader than requested. Determining the Huffs are entitled only to the declaratory judgment they sought, we affirm partial summary judgment for the Huffs while clarifying the scope of the judgment. We remand the case for further proceedings.

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Facts and Procedural History^[1]

[¶3] Kenton L. Robinson owned a tract of land near Lake Monroe, which he planned to develop into a subdivision called The Shores. Adjacent to the tract was the THR Property, at that point owned by Terre Haute Realty Corporation ("THR"). In 1990, Robinson executed a Grant of Easement ("Grant"), which specifically describes the THR Property as the dominant estate. See Cain App. Vol. 3 at 41-48 &217. In the Grant, Robinson established three easements across common areas in The Shores. Id. at 41-48. A representative from THR signed the Grant, assenting to the "terms, conditions[,] and covenants" of the Grant. Id. at 44. One provision states:

Grantee covenants to limit use of the easements . . . for the construction, development[,] and use by Grantee and its assigns of six (6) single[-]family residential structures each of which may include guest and caretaker quarters and other buildings attendant thereto, to be located on Grantee's real estate described in Exhibit A and as more particularly described above.

Id. at 43 (emphasis added). Exhibit A describes only the THR Property. See id. at 41-48 &217. No portion of the Grant describes other property as part of the dominant estate. See id. at 41-48. And there is no language allowing THR or its successor in interest to unilaterally add land to the dominant estate. See id.

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[¶4] In 2017, the Huffs obtained the THR Property. See id. at 19-40. They later acquired the Chumley Parcel from Chumley, LLC. See id. at 13-18. The Chumley Parcel forms a peninsula on Lake Monroe. See id. at 78-79.

[¶5] In 2018, Michael O. Cain and Linda A. Raymond-owners of one of the affected lots in The Shores (collectively, "Cain")-sued the Huffs, alleging the Huffs were exceeding their easement rights. Cain App. Vol. 2 at 58. At first, the lawsuit concerned only the THR Property, focusing on whether the Huffs could truck logs from the THR Property across The Shores. See id. at 58-63. The litigation led to two appeals involving the propriety of injunctive relief. See Cain v. William J. Huff, II Revocable Trust Declaration, Dated June 28, 2011, 149 N.E.3d 645 (Ind.Ct.App. 2020), trans. denied; William J. Huff, II Revocable Trust Declaration, Dated June 28, 2011 v. Cain, 120 N.E.3d 1029 (Ind.Ct.App. 2019), trans. denied. Eventually, the litigation involved the Chumley Parcel. See Cain App. Vol. 2 at 126-28, 140.

[¶6] The Huffs filed a counterclaim against Cain and a third-party complaint against Tammy Jo Sexton-Troy and eleven other affected estate-holders in The Shores^[2] (collectively at times, "Sexton-Troy"). See id. at 141-64. The Huffs later moved...