New Prods. Corp. v. Harbor Shores BHBT Land Dev., LLC
Decision Date | 19 December 2019 |
Docket Number | No. 344211,344211 |
Citation | 331 Mich.App. 614,953 N.W.2d 476 |
Parties | NEW PRODUCTS CORPORATION, Plaintiff/Counter Defendant-Appellant, v. HARBOR SHORES BHBT LAND DEVELOPMENT, LLC, Defendant/Counter Plaintiff/Third-Party Plaintiff-Appellee, and Harbor Shores Golf Course, LLC, Defendant/Counter Plaintiff-Appellee, and Whirlpool Corporation, Cornerstone Community Asset Fund, Inc., City of Benton Harbor, Benton Charter Township, and Horizon Bank, Defendants-Appellees, and Michigan Magnet Fund E, LLC, Horizon Bancorp, and PNC Bank, Defendants, and Larry Allen Heald and Heidi Heald, Third-Party Defendants. |
Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
Demorest Law Firm, PLLC (by Mark S. Demorest, Stephen D. Kursman, Royal Oak, Michael K. Hayes, Cadillac, and Lisa Okasinski, Royal Oak) for New Products Corporation.
Dickinson Wright PLLC (by John G. Cameron, Jr., Grand Rapids, K. Scott Hamilton, Detroit, Scott R. Knapp, Lansing, and Christina K. McDonald, Grand Rapids) for Harbor Shores BHBT Land Development LLC; Harbor Shores Golf Course LLC; Cornerstone Community Asset Fund, Inc.; and Whirlpool Corporation.
Plunkett Cooney, Bloomfield Hills (by Jeffrey C. Gerish ) for the city of Benton Harbor.
Jessica A. Fette for Benton Charter Township.
Kreis, Enderle, Hudgins & Borsos, PC, Battle Creek (by Mark E. Kreter and Stephen L. Simons ) for Horizon Bank.
Before: Meter, P.J., and O'Brien and Tukel, JJ.
In this action to quiet title, plaintiff appeals as of right the trial court's order quieting title in defendants’ favor under multiple theories. We affirm, albeit on narrower grounds than those underlying the trial court's order.
This action concerns a strip of land that now comprises the 18th hole of the Harbor Shores Golf Course—a Jack Nicklaus Signature championship golf course at which the Senior Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour Championship Tournament is held biennially. The disputed parcel sits along the relocated Paw Paw River to the north. To the south, the disputed parcel is bordered by a parcel on which plaintiff, New Products Corporation, operates a large factory producing automobile and machine parts; there is no dispute that plaintiff holds title to this southernmost parcel. In its natural state, the disputed parcel consisted mostly of marshland, suitable mainly for river-adjacent recreation or as a floodplain. With the approval of the National Parks Service and other governmental entities, the wetland has now been filled to create land suitable for golfing.
Ownership of the disputed parcel can be traced back to a parent parcel owned in 1950 by Elwood and Evelyn McDorman. Since then, however, ownership of the disputed parcel has been less than clear. As described by this Court in an opinion resolving an interlocutory appeal:1
When the Healds purchased the property in 1991, their realtor contacted plaintiff's then president, Stanley Miller, to clarify ownership of the now-disputed parcel, indicating that the Hoffmans had paid taxes on the parcel for 38 years, although, "unknown to them, it was not legally theirs." There is no indication in the record that Miller ever took any action with regard to this correspondence. In 2005, Chicago Title investigated the chain of title regarding the disputed parcel and was unable to determine who, in fact, owned the property.
Sometime in 2006 or 2007, plaintiff's now president, Cheryl Miller, became aware that Harbor Shores BHBT Land Development LLC and Harbor Shores Golf Course LLC (the Harbor Shores defendants) planned to use the disputed parcel for part of its golf course and surrounding residential improvements. In 2007, Miller2 retained a land-surveying firm to survey plaintiff's property, which resulted in the firm posting "no trespassing" signs on the disputed parcel. Also in 2007, Miller contacted the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality regarding the Harbor Shores defendants’ application for a permit to fill wetlands and floodplains on the disputed parcel, indicating that defendants were not the rightful owners of the property.
Sometime in 2008, Miller saw plans for the proposed development in the Herald Palladium , which indicated that a golf-course hole would be placed on the disputed parcel. In March 2008, she contacted a trustee of Harbor Shores requesting a final version of the plans. In April 2008, Harbor Shores’ counsel sent Miller a letter arguing that plaintiff's assertion of ownership over the disputed parcel was incorrect, stating:
Plaintiff responded to the letter through its own legal counsel, who emphasized that plaintiff's deed referenced the Paw Paw River "as relocated" and indicated that any future encroachment on the disputed parcel would be considered a trespass. In turn, Harbor Shores’ counsel sent plaintiff a final letter dated July 1, 2008, stating that if plaintiff held an interest in the disputed parcel, it was divested of any title to the property by its failure to pay property taxes. Harbor Shores’ counsel attached to the letter a copy of the 1973 redemption deed and reiterated Harbor Shores’ position that the boundary of plaintiff's property was south of the original river channel. Harbor Shores’ counsel invited further communication with plaintiff, stating, "To the extent it would be helpful, I would be pleased to discuss this matter with you by telephone or in person." Plaintiff's counsel did not respond to this last letter.
For her part, Miller attended a meeting with Harbor Shores representatives in September 2008, at which the parties discussed potential conflicts between the disputed parcel's use as a golf course and plaintiff's factory operation. Before the meeting, Miller had sent Harbor Shores’ counsel a letter...
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