Czarnecki v. Phillips Pipe Line Co.

• Decision Date: 08 April 1975
• Docket Number: Nos. 35731,35887,s. 35731
• Citation: 524 S.W.2d 153
• Parties: Walter S. CZARNECKI and Janice M. Czarnecki, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. PHILLIPS PIPE LINE COMPANY et al., Defendants-Respondents. . Louis District, Division One
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 153

524 S.W.2d 153

Walter S. CZARNECKI and Janice M. Czarnecki, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. PHILLIPS PIPE LINE COMPANY et al., Defendants-Respondents.

Nos. 35731, 35887.

Missouri Court of Appeals, St. Louis District, Division One.

April 8, 1975.

Motion for Rehearing or to Transfer to Supreme Court Denied

May 19, 1975.

Application to Transfer Denied July 14, 1975.

Joe Bill Carter, Clayton, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Lashly, Caruthers, Thies, Rava & Hamel, Albert H. Hamel, Ziercher, Hocker, Tzinberg, Human & Michenfelder, Robert C. Jones, Clayton, Bryan, Cave, McPheeters & McRoberts, Veryl L. Riddle, St. Louis, for defendants-respondents.

WEIER, Presiding Judge.

In this court tried case, at the conclusion of all of the evidence, the court rendered judgment in favor of defendants Anheuser-Busch, Inc. and St. Paul Title Insurance Corporation as to Counts II and III of the petition. Counts I and IV against defendant Phillips Pipe Line Company were taken under advisement, and some months later the court rendered judgment on those counts in favor of the defendant Phillips Pipe Line Company. The plaintiffs appealed from each judgment. Thereupon, both appeals were consolidated and submitted as one in this court. After a consideration of the contentions advanced by plaintiffs, we have determined that they have no merit and affirm the judgments below.

Walter S. Czarnecki and Janice M. Czarnecki purchased a residence and lot in St. Louis County, Missouri on May 14, 1971. They knew when they purchased the property that there was a pipeline easement across the rear of their lot. The real estate salesman had pointed it out as being at the back of the lot. But their concern which precipitated the filing of this lawsuit assumed major proportions when in the early part of March, 1972 Mr. Czarnecki came home from work, went out to his backyard and saw stakes at both sides of his property, and found that the defendant Phillips Pipe Line Company was going to construct a new pipeline which would be very close to the back of his residence. The petition upon which the suit was tried consisted of four counts. Count I sought an injunction against the defendant Phillips. It alleged that the defendant Phillips by reason of certain recorded right-of-way documents had acquired an interest in the plaintiffs' property and that because of an alleged mutual mistake of fact between Phillips and Czarneckis' predecessor in title, Phillips was planning to construct its pipeline outside of the easement area and therefore should be enjoined. Count II was an action for $20,000.00 in damages against St. Paul Title Insurance Corporation for alleged negligence in issuing its certificate of title which, according to plaintiffs, failed to indicate that Phillips actually had two or more easements running through the property. Count III was an action for damages in the sum of $20,000.00 against the defendant Anheuser-Busch, Inc., the grantor in the warranty deed conveying the real estate to the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs complained that the deed referred only to a right-of-way thirty feet wide and failed to show that the pipelines were not within the easement described but rather outside of the boundaries of this thirty foot right-of-way. Count IV was an action in trespass for damages against the defendant Phillips alleging that the pipelines were not within the thirty foot easement. Copies of the instruments describing the easement were attached and made a part of the petition. To illuminate the issues, we set forth a chronology of events concerning the easements presented by the evidence.

The first pipeline was an eight inch line installed on the premises in 1930. No document was introduced in the evidence concerning this original construction and we assume that none was recorded. The first document introduced in the evidence was entitled 'Right-of-way Grant' and was executed on the 20th day of August, 1941 by Eva Meyer and Ferdinand Meyer, and recorded in the recorder's office of St. Louis County. This purported to grant to Phillips Petroleum Company, the predecessor in interest to the defendant Phillips Pipe Line Company, the right to maintain an existing pipeline and construct one additional pipeline across certain land. This land was later subdivided and one of the lots became the subject of this suit. The description contained in this grant to Phillips read as follows: 'A tract thirty feet wide across that portion of the West half of the Northeast Quarter of Section 4, Township 43 North, Range 6 East in St. Louis County, Missouri, which lies North of the Mattese Road containing 40.80 acres, more or less. The center line of the above thirty foot tract is the Grantee's present pipe line, as now located and laid, more particularly described as follows: Entering the above described property at a point in the West boundary line approximately 20 feet South of the Northwest Corner and running in a Northerly (sic) direction approximately parallel to the North line of said property and leaving said property at a point in the East line approximately 20 feet south of the Northeast Corner of the above described property.'

On September 25, 1951 a second instrument entitled 'Supplemental Right-of-way Grant' was executed by Guy and Anna Burnette to Phillips Pipe Line Company. This incorporated by reference the first document and proposed to amend the first right-of-way grant to allow Phillips to construct a 10 1/4 inch pipeline alongside the existing 8 inch pipeline, the prior grant having limited the size of any additional pipeline to 8 inches. This second document describes two tracts, each a little larger than five acres, across which the pipeline easement ran. But aside from referring to the previous recording, it did not specifically locate the easement within the tracts described.

The third right-of-way instrument was executed on January 9, 1967 by Charles R. Kruse and Doris M. Kruse, his wife, wherein they granted to Phillips the right to construct, operate, inspect, maintain and remove its present pipelines and additional pipelines which may be laid in the future, describing the right-of-way granted as follows: 'A tract of land being thirty feet (30 ) wide across Lots 15--16 & 17, Sir Winston Estates, plat of which is recorded in Book 118, Page 25, Records of St. Louis County, Missouri. The center line of the above thirty foot (30 ) tract being the Grantees' present existing eight inch (8 ) pipe line as it is now located on said premises. The said eight inch (8 ) pipe line being the most northerly of two existing pipelines owned by Grantee. (Book 6134, page 133.)' This document does not refer to any of the previous documents above described. It should be noted that the execution of this instrument followed by five days a meeting between the right-of-way agent of Phillips and Mr. Kruse, who together with his wife owned the property at that time and who was constructing a house on the premises. This meeting came about because the house was being built very near the southernmost of two parallel pipelines of Phillips. The pipelines were uncovered and they were observed in relation to the house then being built. It was at this time that the third instrument was drawn up and executed.

Plaintiffs, on appeal, first contend that the court erred in rendering judgment on Count I of their petition in favor of defendant Phillips Pipe Line Company because the third easement executed January 9, 1967 was executed under mutual mistake of fact and that the legal description was insufficient to locate the new easement, resulting in the existence of a continuous trespass across the property by reason of the location of pipelines outside the only easement of record. The answer to the first part of...