Raven's Run Homeowners Ass'n v. Crown Pointe Ass'n
| Decision Date | 09 November 2022 |
| Docket Number | 2022-UP-403,Appellate Case 2019-001289 |
| Parties | Raven's Run Homeowners Association, Inc., Appellant-Respondent, v. Crown Pointe Association, Inc., Lois K. Novak as Trustee of the Lois K. Novak Living Trust dated 10/14/2013; Laurie T. Herron and Mark D. Herron; James B. Kubu and Melissa F. Kubu; Leila June Johnson; Danny Ta and Anita McCauley; Robert E. Luby, Jr., and Barbara Luby; Joshua D. Coonce; Lucius Roy Junevicus; Katherine Kinlaw; Thomas K. Kuyk and Melissa Ward; Roland Franklin Wooten, III, and Teresa Key Wooten; Michael P. Horvath; Timothy E. Moylan and Karen G. Moylan; Carl A. Counasse and Maureen Counasse; David A. Frielinghaus and Holly C. Frielinghaus; Christopher S. Finley and Holly M. Finley; Shirley D. Springer a/k/a Shirly Deanna Springer; Deirdre C. Knight; Robert Shane Johnson; Eric R. Sigman; Lamar R. Graves, Jr. and Terry W. Graves; Mary Elizabeth Gladden; Philip Wallace and Naomi Grad; Thomas Edwin Davis and Luis Miguel Gonzalez Melchor; John R. Funkhouser and Jennifer L. Funkhouser; Gregory S. Cooper and Jane B. Cooper; Frank C. Jones, Jr. and Elise Ubele Jones; William P. Topping and Kris B. Topping; LaRhonda S. Ptichko; Kenneth L. Tully and Anna J. Tully; Defendants, Of Whom James B. Kubu and Melissa F. Kubu and Leila June Johnson are the Respondents, And Katherine Kinlaw is the Respondent-Appellant. |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.
Heard June 15, 2022
Appeal From Charleston County Mikell R. Scarborough Master-in-Equity
George Hamlin O'Kelly, III, of Buist Byars &Taylor, LLC, of Mt. Pleasant; Maria Kiehling Brees, of Brees Law Firm, LLC and Justin M. McGee, of McGee Law Firm, LLC, both of Charleston; and William W. Wilkins and Kirsten Elena Small both of Nexsen Pruet, LLC, of Greenville, all for Appellant-Respondent Raven's Run Homeowners Association.
Harold Alan Oberman, of Oberman &Oberman, of Charleston, for Respondent-Appellant Katherine Kinlaw.
Jeffrey T. Spell, of Charleston, for Respondent Leila June Johnson.
Charles Mac Gibson, Jr., of Mt. Pleasant, for Respondents James B. Kubu and Melissa F. Kubu.
In this action for an injunction, declaratory judgment, trespass, and nuisance, Raven's Run Homeowner's Association (Raven's Run HOA) sued the Crown Pointe Association (Crown Pointe HOA) and several homeowners (the Homeowners) in the neighboring Crown Pointe subdivision over ownership of the lake dividing the two subdivisions (the Lake) and the eight to twelve-foot strip of land that banks the Lake on the Crown Pointe side (the Disputed Land). Raven's Run HOA asserted that by cutting down trees on the Disputed Land and accessing the Lake to fish and boat, the Homeowners had committed trespass and nuisance.
After a hearing on cross-motions for summary judgment, the Master-in Equity found Crown Pointe HOA owned both the Lake and the Disputed Land. However, on motion for reconsideration, the Master ruled Raven's Run HOA owned the Lake but the Homeowners owned the land up to the waterline. Now, on appeal, Raven's Run HOA asserts the Master erred in finding it did not own the Disputed Land. In a cross-appeal, one of the Homeowners, Katherine Kinlaw, asserts the Master erred in finding Raven's Run HOA owns the Lake. We affirm the Master's rulings that Crown Pointe HOA owns the Disputed Land and Raven's Run HOA owns the Lake. We vacate the Master's ruling that the Homeowners own the land up to the waterline, and finally, we dismiss Raven's Run HOA's claims for trespass and nuisance.
In 1983 and 1984, Yaupon Plantation Investors deeded an undeveloped tract of land to a developer, R.A.C. Enterprises, Inc. (R.A.C.). R.A.C. parceled the land into three subdivisions: Raven's Run, Crown Pointe, and East Crossing. R.A.C. then conveyed the lots in the Crown Pointe subdivision to Spectra Development, Inc. (Spectra) for development.
As noted, Raven's Run and Crown Pointe are separated by the Lake. For many years, Raven's Run's view of Crown Pointe was shielded by a marshy tree line on the Disputed Land. However, in 2015 and 2016, several homeowners from Crown Pointe whose lots backed up to the Disputed Land began to cut down the trees and remove overgrown vegetation. Raven's Run HOA sought a restraining order against Crown Pointe HOA and all Crown Pointe homeowners whose property abutted the Disputed Land to stop any further tree cutting. In November 2017, Raven's Run HOA filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against three specific Crown Pointe homeowners: Leila Johnson, Katherine Kinlaw, and James and Melissa Kubu. The injunction was granted, and Johnson, Kinlaw, and the Kubus were prohibited from removing any vegetation on the Disputed Land or accessing the water during the pendency of the litigation.
In March 2018, Raven's Run HOA amended its complaint to add causes of action for trespass and nuisance. In August 2018, Raven's Run HOA and Crown Pointe HOA filed cross-motions for summary judgment, each asserting it owned the Disputed Land. Before the hearing, Crown Pointe HOA, Raven's Run HOA, and most of the Crown Pointe homeowners named in the lawsuit settled. The only remaining parties to the litigation were Raven's Run HOA and the Homeowners: Johnson, Kinlaw, and the Kubus.
The hearing revealed that ownership of the Disputed Land was not a straightforward inquiry. First, both the Homeowners and Raven's Run HOA agreed the individual lots of the Crown Pointe homes did not extend to the Lake but ended at the boundary of the Disputed Land, eight to twelve feet before the Lake. The Homeowners argued that, when R.A.C. began subdividing and conveying its Yaupon Plantation land in the 1980s, the question of who owned the Disputed Land "fell through the cracks" and was not conveyed to anyone until two quitclaim deeds were filed in 2001 and 2002, Deed C-392 and Deed H-394. According to the Homeowners, these quitclaim deeds conveyed any leftover land depicted in Plat BK-2 (R.A.C.'s plat of the Crown Pointe subdivision) to Crown Pointe HOA. By contrast, Raven's Run HOA asserted R.A.C. conveyed the Disputed Land to Raven's Run HOA in Deed R-163, a 1987 deed. The Master did not agree, noting the plat referenced in R-163, known as Plat BL-57, showed only the Raven's Run side of the Lake.
The Master was persuaded by an earlier deed, Deed O-161, also from 1987, in which R.A.C. conveyed several lots from the Crown Pointe subdivision to Spectra. Deed O-161 was the first deed to reference Plat BK-2, which was recorded in 1986. Plat BK-2 depicted the Disputed Land and contained the words, "By the recording of this plat, the green areas and Lakes shown hereon are dedicated to the use of the Crown Pointe [HOA] forever." The Master found Plat BK-2 dedicated the use of the Disputed Land and water from the Lake to Crown Pointe HOA, and the quitclaim deeds, C-392 and H-394, conveyed the Disputed Land to the Crown Pointe HOA. Accordingly, the Master ended the preliminary injunction against the Homeowners.
In accord with these findings, the Master issued a written order ruling: 1) the Disputed Land was constructively conveyed from R.A.C. to Crown Pointe HOA as part of a sixty-foot drainage easement dedicated to the public (forty feet into the lake and twenty feet of land-which included the Disputed Land) depicted in the 1986 Plat BK-2, and then conveyed to Crown Pointe HOA by quitclaim deed and 2) according to Plat BK-2, Crown Point HOA had a non-exclusive right to use the Disputed Land and Lake. The Master dismissed all of Raven's Run HOA's causes of action against the Homeowners.
Raven's Run HOA moved for reconsideration. At the reconsideration hearing, Raven's Run HOA asked the Master to consider Deed E-150,[1] recorded in 1985.
Raven's Run HOA contended that, in Deed E-150, R.A.C. conveyed both the Lake and the Disputed Land to Raven's Run HOA. Deed E-150 referenced a conditional plat of the Raven's Run subdivision, Plat BG-52, recorded in 1985. Although BG-52 did not depict any portion of the Crown Pointe subdivision, it did depict portions of the Lake between Raven's Run and Crown Pointe. Deed E-150 also contained language that stated R.A.C. "grant[s], bargain[s], sell[s], and release[s] unto the said [Raven's Run HOA] . . . ALL those certain pieces, parcels or strips of land, bodies of water, roadways and marsh, below described, all of which are shown on [Plat BG-52]."
The Master granted Raven's Run's HOA's motion to reconsider, ruling Deed E-150 conveyed the Lake to Raven's Run HOA, but it did not convey the Disputed Land to Raven's Run HOA. The Master then ruled the Homeowners "owned fee simple title to their parcels of land all the way to the waterline" of the Lake. The Master made no reconsideration ruling on Raven's Run HOA's trespass and nuisance allegations. These cross-appeals follow.
"When reviewing the grant of a summary judgment motion, this court applies the same standard that governs the [M]aster pursuant to Rule 56, SCRCP." Edgewater on Broad Creek Owners Ass'n, Inc. v. Ephesian Ventures, LLC, 430 S.C. 400 405, 845 S.E.2d 211, 213-14 (Ct. App. 2020). When construing a deed, summary judgment is proper and a trial is unnecessary when the intention of the parties may be gleaned from the four corners of the instrument itself. Id. at 407, 845 S.E.2d at 214. When a deed describes land as it is shown on a certain plat, the plat becomes part of the deed "for the purpose of showing the boundaries, metes, courses and distances of the property conveyed." Hobonny Club, Inc. v. McEachern, 272 S.C. 392, 397, 252 S.E.2d 133, 136 (1979). When a tax map number is referenced in a deed, it is significant and reflects the...
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