Card v. Sprinkle

• Citation: 194 N.E.3d 627
• Decision Date: 17 August 2022
• Docket Number: Court of Appeals Case No. 21A-PL-2491
• Parties: Julie CARD and Bruce Card, Appellant-Defendants, v. Alan SPRINKLE and Lynne A. Sprinkle, Appellee-Plaintiffs.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

194 N.E.3d 627

Julie CARD and Bruce Card, Appellant-Defendants,
v.
Alan SPRINKLE and Lynne A. Sprinkle, Appellee-Plaintiffs.

Court of Appeals Case No. 21A-PL-2491

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

FILED August 17, 2022

Attorneys for Appellants: Michael E. DiRienzo, Ryan M. Schulz, Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn, LLP, Evansville, Indiana

Attorneys for Appellees: James D. Johnson, Mark T. Abell, Jackson Kelly PLLC, Evansville, Indiana

Mathias, Judge.

194 N.E.3d 630

[1] Julie and Bruce Card appeal the Warrick Circuit Court's judgment denying their counterclaim to quiet title to property deeded to Alan and Lynne Sprinkle. On appeal, the Cards claim that they proved that their predecessor in interest obtained title to the disputed property, and the trial court erred when it concluded that they failed to prove each element of their adverse possession claim. Specifically, the trial court found that the Cards failed to prove the "notice" element. The Cards also appeal the trial court's award of attorney fees to the Sprinkles.

2] Concluding that the Cards proved that their predecessor in interest obtained title to the disputed property via adverse possession, we reverse and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Facts and Procedural History

[3] The Sprinkles have owned approximately forty acres of undeveloped real estate in Dale, Indiana since 1970. Lot 83 in the Yellowbanks Recreational development is adjacent and situated to the east of the Sprinkle property. A house was built on Lot 83 in 1980 and four sheds were constructed on the property in 1990.

[4] The deeds for the Sprinkle property and Lot 83 overlap. Specifically, Lot 83's deed overlaps with the Sprinkle acreage by a length of 184.97 feet and a width of 17.12 feet, which forms a right triangle on the edge of the Sprinkle property. The sheds and a corner of the house on Lot 83 encroach on the Sprinkle property. The red shed is located entirely on the Sprinkle acreage and the brown shed is almost entirely located on the Sprinkle property. A corner of the Card residence is 3.8 feet over the Sprinkle property line and is almost entirely located on Lot 83. The specific overlaps are shown below:

[194 N.E.3d 631

Ex. Vol. Defendant's Ex. P p. 87.

5] In 2009, the Sprinkles had their forty-acre parcel classified as Forest and Wildland pursuant to Indiana Code chapter 6-1.1-6 which provides property tax incentives. Because a classified forest cannot contain any structures, the house and sheds are a possible threat to the classification of the Sprinkle acreage.

[194 N.E.3d 632

[6] When Kevin Kern, the Cards’ predecessor-in-interest, purchased Lot 83 in 2003, there were still four sheds on the property. Kern believed he was purchasing the house, the four sheds, and the land surrounding them. The seller requested to take one of the sheds with him and Kern agreed. Shortly after purchasing Lot 83, Kern tore down one of the remaining three sheds. In 2004, Kern discovered that his property did not include the area where the red shed was located and that the brown shed was not entirely located on his lot. Kern stopped using the red shed for storage after he discovered that no part of the shed was situated on his lot.

7] Kern believed that Pat Marshall, who was the owner of the Yellowbanks Recreational development, owned the property east of Lot 83. Kern asked Marshall if he could purchase the land east of Lot 83. Marshall told Kern that she did not own the property located to the east of Lot 83. Kern made no other attempts to discover who owned the property. Kern continued to maintain the property by clearing brush, leaves and small trees from around the brown and red sheds, he used the brown shed for storage, and he continually mowed the area while he owned Lot 83. The mow line extends fifty-one feet to the east of the property line.

[8] The Cards purchased Lot 83 from Kern in 2014. Prior to the purchase, Kern gave the Cards a surveyor's report completed in 1999. The house is shown as resting entirely within the boundaries of Lot 83. The sheds were not depicted in the survey. Based on Kern's representations, the Cards believed that the residence and brown shed were located within the boundaries of Lot 83, but the Cards knew they were not purchasing the land surrounding the red shed. Appellant's App. Vol 2 p. 7.

[9] The valuation of Lot 83 for property tax purposes included the residence and four sheds until 2011. Two utility sheds were removed from the valuation in 2011. All taxes were paid by Kern and the Cards from 2003 through 2019.

[10] In 2018, the DNR reinspected the Sprinkle property as required by statute to maintain the Forest and Wildland classification. When the inspector and Sprinkle walked his western property line with a GIS-enabled tablet, they discovered that the Cards’ house and sheds were encroaching on the Sprinkles’ property. When the property was initially inspected in 2009 by Sprinkle and the DNR, they noted the house and sheds, but the inspector did not indicate that he believed that the structures encroached on the Sprinkles’ property line. Sprinkle ordered a survey of his property which confirmed that a corner of the house is located on his property and the red and brown sheds are located on his property.

[11] Sprinkle demanded that the Cards remove the sheds and their house from his property. The Cards declined and maintained that Kern had satisfied the elements of adverse possession, and therefore, had obtained title of the disputed property, which...