Hostler v. Green Park Development Co.
| Decision Date | 16 February 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 73570,73570 |
| Citation | 986 S.W.2d 500 |
| Parties | James HOSTLER, et al., Plaintiffs/Respondents, v. GREEN PARK DEVELOPMENT CO., et al., Defendants/Appellants. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
William T. Weidle, Jr., St. Louis, Eric Martin, Chesterfield, James D. Bass, St. Louis, for Appellant.
David Bayland, Union, for respondent.
Defendants Lawless Homes, Inc. ("Lawless Homes") and Green Park Development Company ("Green Park") appeal from the judgment in a bench-tried case. The trial court awarded plaintiffs $205,000.00 in actual damages and $75,000.00 in punitive damages. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
Green Park was the initial owner and developer of the six acre tract of land in dispute. Green Park petitioned St. Louis County to establish a Planned Environmental Unit (PEU) for property encompassing the six acre tract in unincorporated St. Louis County which became known as the Spring Hill Farm Subdivision. A PEU is an alternative zoning procedure which provides flexibility to the developer by permitting it to construct differing building types on the same development to promote diverse, sound, urban developments. See S.L.C.R.O. section 1003.187.2. St. Louis County granted Green Park preliminary permission to develop Spring Hill Farm as a PEU in June 1983 when it adopted Ordinance No. 11,065. Green Park was required to submit a site development concept plan for the county's approval within eighteen months of the ordinance's adoption.
On May 16, 1984, Green Park recorded its "Site Dev. Plan/Preliminary Plat" for Spring Hill Farm. The plan bore a legend which recited:
Green Park Development Company, the owner(s) of this property shown on this plan for an [sic] in consideration of being granted a permit to develop said property under the provisions of Section 1003.117 & 1003.187 S.L.C.R.O., "R-4", "FP-R-4" & P.E.U. of the St. Louis County Zoning Ordinances, do(es) hereby agree, declare and covenant that from the date of recording of this plan, the property shall be developed only as shown herein. This covenant shall run with the land, and shall be enforceable pursuant to Sections 67.870-.900 R.S.Mo. by St. Louis County or its successor as a plan of development adopted by the St. Louis County Planning Commission to promote orderly development. This plan may be amended or superseded by the Planning Commission or modified by the Department of Planning or voided by order or ordinance of the St. Louis County Council, each as more particularly authorized by the St. Louis County Zoning Ordinance now or hereafter in effect.
(emphasis added). This plan designated the six acres in dispute as common ground. Green Park filed an "Amended Site Development Plan" with respect to Spring Hill Farm Subdivision on August 27, 1984, but did not change the common ground designations found in the site development plan recorded on May 16.
On May 7, 1985, Green Park recorded an Indenture of Trust and Restrictions which reserved land designated as common ground, including the six acres at issue, in the "various plats" of the Spring Hill Farm Subdivision. The provisions of the trust indenture authorized the trustees to enforce the restrictions on the common ground. In the trust indenture, Green Park referred to the site development plan recorded on May 16, 1984 as the "final development plan."
Sometime in 1993, Mount Olympus Properties, Inc. ("Mount Olympus"), approached the staff of the St. Louis County Planning Commission for recommendations on a plan to develop the six acres of common ground. A county land use manager questioned the plan in that such development may have violated the density requirements for which the property was zoned under the PEU. The land use manager further noted that a substantial departure from the PEU would require a public hearing.
On November 10, 1993, Green Park entered into negotiations with Mount Olympus for the sale of 13.5 acres, including the six acres of common ground, for $175,000.00. On June 4, 1993, the parties agreed that Mount Olympus would pay $10,000.00 in earnest money upon the final annexation of the property into the City of Valley Park.
The Spring Hill Farm Subdivision was to be developed in a plan that consisted of four "phases." St. Louis County granted preliminary approval of Green Park's petition to develop Phase IV, which included the six acres in dispute, on June 6, 1994 in Ordinance No. 17,047. The Phase IV plat Green Park initially submitted to the St. Louis County Planning Commission showed the six acres originally designated "common ground" in the site development plat were now marked for "future developments." This plan was not approved because it was not in conformance with the final site development plan. The Phase IV plat eventually approved by St. Louis County designated the six acres as the "West Un-Platted Area." The designation recognized that the land was not included in the record plat for the development of Phase IV. The west un-platted area was not needed to meet the density requirements of the Phase IV developments. Upon recording a record plat, St. Louis County required the developer to convey common ground to the trustees of a subdivision by general warranty deed. See S.L.C.R.O. section 1003.187.12. However, as the west un-platted area was excluded from the Phase IV record plat, it was not conveyed to plaintiffs.
On August 17, 1994, Green Park and MC Homes, Inc. ("MC Homes") 1 petitioned the City of Valley Park for the voluntary annexation of contiguous property, including the west un-platted area. A public hearing was held on September 6, 1994, but the lot owners of Spring Hill Farm did not receive personal notice of the hearing. No written objections to the annexation were submitted and the property was annexed into the City of Valley Park.
On September 12, 1994, Mount Olympus assigned the November 10, 1993 real estate contract, and its amendments, to MC Homes, which assumed Mount Olympus' obligations under the contract. The property conveyed was reduced to solely the six acres comprising the west un-platted area. Accordingly, the purchase price was reduced to $163,000.00. In addition, MC Homes agreed to pay Mount Olympus the sum of $42,000.00.
On November 5, 1994, plaintiff James Hostler, a trustee of Spring Hill Farm, was first notified of the proposed development of the west un-platted area. On that day, he visited the offices of Michael Lawless, the president of Lawless Homes. During their conversation, Lawless told Hostler that in his opinion, the final site development plan could be changed and therefore the west un-platted area was not "common ground." Further, Lawless "felt that it would not be good for [Hostler] to involve [himself] with getting in the way of the progress of developing that common ground area."
On November 7, 1994, Hostler attended a public hearing in the City of Valley Park, the purpose of which was to determine future development of property including the west un-platted area. At the public hearing, Hostler identified himself as a property owner in the Spring Hill Farm Subdivision, but he did not state his concern that the trustees of Spring Hill Farm had an interest in the west un-platted area. Valley Park rezoned the west un-platted area to allow the development of residential homes.
After its acquisition of the west un-platted area on November 16, 1994, Lawless Homes began to develop the Glenn Brooke Subdivision. Spring Hill Farm lot owners met on December 10, 1994 to discuss Lawless Homes' proposed development of the west un-platted area. The trustees contacted Lawless Homes in May 1995 and requested information regarding the west un-platted area. Lawless Homes' July 1995 reply consisted only of the Phase IV plat. Plaintiffs filed suit in August 1995, and at the same time filed a notice of lis pendens on the west un-platted area. At the time of trial, Lawless Homes had constructed and sold forty-one homes on the west un-platted area.
Plaintiffs' amended petition contained five counts. In Count I, plaintiffs sought to enjoin defendants from entering upon, or constructing any improvements upon, the west un-platted area. In Count II, plaintiffs sought to eject defendants, remove the improvements constructed upon the west un-platted area and recover damages for the "fair rental value" and loss of use of the common ground. In Count III, plaintiffs asked that the court quiet title in the west un-platted area in favor of plaintiffs. In Count IV, plaintiffs asked that the court award actual damages due to defendants' "misappropriation, conversion and trespass" upon the common ground. Plaintiffs additionally alleged the actions were done with intent, willfulness or reckless disregard of plaintiffs' property rights, and asked for punitive damages. In Count V, plaintiffs asked that the court set aside the annexation of the west un-platted area by defendant City of Valley Park.
The trial court entered judgment in favor of defendants on Counts I, II, III and V. 2 The court entered judgment in favor of plaintiffs on Count IV and awarded actual damages in the amount of $205,000.00 and punitive damages in the amount of $75,000.00.
We will sustain the judgment of the trial court unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of the evidence or it erroneously declares or applies the law. DCW Enterprises, Inc. v. Terre du Lac Ass'n, Inc., 953 S.W.2d 127, 130 (Mo.App.1997). The trial court did not enter findings of fact or conclusions of law. This court must assume that all fact issues were found in accordance with the result reached. Nahn v. Soffer, 824 S.W.2d 442, 444 (Mo.App.1991). The judgment must be affirmed if it is correct under any reasonable theory pleaded and supported by the evidence. Whiteside v. Rottger, 913 S.W.2d 114, 119 (Mo.App.1995).
Although the issue of standing was not raised by the parties, we are obliged...
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