Giles v. Parker, No. 1621
| Court | Court of Appeals of South Carolina |
| Writing for the Court | GARDNER; SANDERS, C.J., and LITTLEJOHN |
| Citation | 403 S.E.2d 130,304 S.C. 69 |
| Parties | Mildred B. GILES, Appellant-Respondent, v. Timothy L. PARKER and Billy H. Craig, Respondents-Appellants. . Heard |
| Docket Number | No. 1621 |
| Decision Date | 04 December 1990 |
Page 130
v.
Timothy L. PARKER and Billy H. Craig, Respondents-Appellants.
Decided March 4, 1991.
Rehearing Denied May 7, 1991.
[304 S.C. 70] John Oates Woods and Henry T. Woods, both of Woods & Woods, Rock Hill, for appellant-respondent.
Page 131
Edward M. Jackson, and John C. Hayes, III, of Hayes, Brunson & Gatlin, Rock Hill, for respondents-appellants.
GARDNER, Judge:
This cross-appeal involves the width of a road running through the farm of Mildred B. Giles (Giles) to property now owned by Timothy L. Parker and Billy H. Craig (Parker and Craig). Giles' property is located in York County near the City of Rock Hill and is delineated on a plat made in 1919. The plat does not specify the width of the road. The trial judge found that the original width of the road was twenty feet. A plat (1988 plat), showing the road to be twenty-five feet, was drawn during the process of unsuccessful negotiations. The trial judge found that Parker and Craig had unlawfully widened the road to twenty-five feet, that Giles was entitled to damages for the trespass and then incongruously decreed that the 1988 plat be recorded. We affirm in part, reverse in part and remand.
The issues of merit are whether (1) the trial judge erred in failing to find that the unspecified width of the subject road should be determined by calculating its width using the indicated scale of the 1919 plat, (2) the trial judge erred in holding that the width of the road was a matter of construction to determine[304 S.C. 71] the original intent of the parties as to the width of the road, (3) the relief granted in the appealed order is inconsistent with and does not conform to the findings of fact made by the trial judge and (4) the trial judge erred in awarding attorney fees for Giles.
The disputed road runs through Giles' land to Parker and Craig's land and is the only existing entrance to the Parker and Craig property. There is another right-of-way to Parker and Craig's property, but no road has been built along this right-of-way. The 1919 plat subdivides a tract of land which lies south of a public road known as Finley Road. The subject road runs south between two front lots to the rear of the subdivided tract. Courses and distances are used on all boundaries of each tract, but not for the road in question. The plat bears a legend "center of road" to indicate that the boundaries of the bordering lots extend to the center of the road.
Giles has lived on the property for twenty-four years. She inherited from her uncle one of the front lots and two of the lots in the rear of the subdivision. In 1985, Parker and Craig purchased a 6.2 acre tract of land located at the rear of the subdivision on which they planned to establish a mobile home park.
Until 1987 when Parker and Craig widened the road, it was a one-lane dirt road used by farm wagons and automobiles. Only Giles used it on a regular basis. After Parker and Craig approached Giles about widening the road, Giles' attorney prepared a settlement agreement, but it was not signed by the parties.
Parker and Craig assert that the issue of this action is the width of the road shown on the 1919 plat. This is true, however, as noted, there are other issues incident to this broad proposition.
The trial judge allowed evidence as to the original width of the road. This testimony varied from ten to twenty feet. The surveyor testified that at the time he surveyed the road for the proposed settlement "[t]here was a single lane driveway type road." This testimony is consistent with all other testimony of record pertaining to the width of the road as it was before it was widened by Parker and Craig.
[304 S.C. 72] SCOPE OF REVIEW
The scope of review of a declaratory judgment action will be considered one at law unless it be determined that the underlying purpose of the action set forth in the complaint is equitable. Noisette v. Ismail, 299 S.C. 243, 384 S.E.2d 310 (Ct.App.1989). In this case, Giles demands damages for trespass by Parker and Craig. She admits that there is a roadway but alleges that it was only fifteen feet and that Parker and Craig have trespassed on ten feet of her land. We hold that...
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Creighton v. Coligny Plaza Ltd., No. 2909.
...(appellate court will not disturb trial judge's ruling on motion to consolidate absent abuse of discretion); see also Giles v. Parker, 304 S.C. 69, 403 S.E.2d 130 (Ct.App. 1991) (bifurcation of trial was well within trial judge's Under Rule 42(b), SCRCP, the court in furtherance of convenie......
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Murrells Inlet Corp. v. Ward, No. 4384.
...Billings v. McDaniel, 217 S.C. 261, 265, 60 S.E.2d 592, 593-594 (1950); Van Blarcum, 337 S.C. at 451, 523 S.E.2d at 488; Giles v. Parker, 304 S.C. 69, 73, 403 S.E.2d 130, 132 (Ct.App. 1991). The easement referenced in the plat is dedicated to the use of the owners of the lots, their success......
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Binkley v. Rabon Creek Watershed Conserv., No. 3411.
...(1997) (citations omitted); Eldridge v. City of Greenwood, 331 S.C. 398, 416, 503 S.E.2d 191, 200 (Ct.App.1998). But see Giles v. Parker, 304 S.C. 69, 72, 403 S.E.2d 130, 131-32 (Ct.App.1991) (holding the determination of the width of an easement is a question at 5. See Howorka v. Harbor Is......
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Vick v. SOUTH CAROLINA DEPT. OF TRANSP., No. 3393.
...or implied acceptance of the dedication, evidenced either by general public use or by acts of the public authorities." Giles v. Parker, 304 S.C. 69, 73, 403 S.E.2d 130, 132 (Ct.App.1991); see also Walker v. Guignard, 293 S.C. 247, 248, 359 S.E.2d 528, 529 (Ct.App.1987) (holding although a d......
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Creighton v. Coligny Plaza Ltd., No. 2909.
...(appellate court will not disturb trial judge's ruling on motion to consolidate absent abuse of discretion); see also Giles v. Parker, 304 S.C. 69, 403 S.E.2d 130 (Ct.App. 1991) (bifurcation of trial was well within trial judge's Under Rule 42(b), SCRCP, the court in furtherance of convenie......
-
Murrells Inlet Corp. v. Ward, No. 4384.
...Billings v. McDaniel, 217 S.C. 261, 265, 60 S.E.2d 592, 593-594 (1950); Van Blarcum, 337 S.C. at 451, 523 S.E.2d at 488; Giles v. Parker, 304 S.C. 69, 73, 403 S.E.2d 130, 132 (Ct.App. 1991). The easement referenced in the plat is dedicated to the use of the owners of the lots, their success......
-
Binkley v. Rabon Creek Watershed Conserv., No. 3411.
...(1997) (citations omitted); Eldridge v. City of Greenwood, 331 S.C. 398, 416, 503 S.E.2d 191, 200 (Ct.App.1998). But see Giles v. Parker, 304 S.C. 69, 72, 403 S.E.2d 130, 131-32 (Ct.App.1991) (holding the determination of the width of an easement is a question at 5. See Howorka v. Harbor Is......
-
Vick v. SOUTH CAROLINA DEPT. OF TRANSP., No. 3393.
...or implied acceptance of the dedication, evidenced either by general public use or by acts of the public authorities." Giles v. Parker, 304 S.C. 69, 73, 403 S.E.2d 130, 132 (Ct.App.1991); see also Walker v. Guignard, 293 S.C. 247, 248, 359 S.E.2d 528, 529 (Ct.App.1987) (holding although a d......