Rendleman v. Heinley

• Decision Date: 21 November 2006
• Docket Number: No. 25,358.,25,358.
• Citation: 149 P.3d 1009,2007 NMCA 009
• Parties: Mark RENDLEMAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Donna HEINLEY, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeals of New Mexico

149 P.3d 1009

2007 NMCA 009

Mark RENDLEMAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Donna HEINLEY, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 25,358.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico.

November 21, 2006.

Caren I. Friedman, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellant.

Randolph B. Felker, Felker, Ish, Ritchie & Geer, P.A., Santa Fe, NM, for Appellee.

OPINION

SUTIN, Judge.

{1} Plaintiff Mark Rendleman and Defendant Donna Heinley own separate properties having a common boundary. Plaintiff's property is north and Defendant's property is south of that common boundary. Plaintiff claims that Defendant trespassed across the common boundary and onto Plaintiff's property. He asserts that the district court erred in holding that Plaintiff failed to prove trespass.

{2} A second issue concerns the ownership of different property and the validity of Defendant's easement over the property. This property lies to the east of and borders Defendant's property. Two chains of title stemming from one previous owner created this ownership and, therefore, this easement dispute. We refer to this property as the "disputed property." Plaintiff received a deed to the disputed property. But Holly Beth Fassler also received a deed to the disputed property originating from the same previous owner. Fassler granted Defendant an easement as to a part of the disputed property bordering Defendant's property. Plaintiff and Defendant dispute the validity of the easement. Plaintiff asserts that he owns the property in question and that Fassler never owned the property, and therefore Defendant's easement is invalid and her use of the property is a trespass on Plaintiff's property.

{3} As to this disputed property issue, the district court concluded that Plaintiff failed to establish superior title and, applying the after-acquired title doctrine, concluded that Fassler owned the land when she granted Defendant the easement. The doctrine of after-acquired title estops a grantor who obtains title to land after already granting the land from claiming the land as against the grantee. Hays v. King, 109 N.M. 202, 204, 784 P.2d 21, 23 (1989). The issue is whether the district court erred in applying the after-acquired title doctrine to estop Plaintiff from claiming title to the land as against Defendant where Plaintiff was not the initial grantor, Defendant's chain of title began before the initial grantor obtained clear title, and Plaintiff's chain of title began after the initial grantor obtained clear title and after Defendant's chain of title.

{4} We will discuss the pertinent facts later in this opinion. We affirm the district court's rulings.

DISCUSSION

Claim of Trespass on Plaintiff's Property to Defendant's North

{5} Plaintiff asserts that Defendant trespassed on his property which bounded Defendant's property to the north. At the center of this boundary and trespass issue is the Rio Grande river, which runs along the southern edge of Plaintiff's land. The district court stated in its findings that "[i]n general terms, the Rio Grande river flows between the usable property of [Plaintiff and Defendant] with [Plaintiff's] usable property located to the north of the river and [Defendant's] property to the south." The district court further found that the "actual property line," as determined in a previous quiet title suit between Plaintiff and Defendant, was

located approximately at the southern bank of the Rio Grande with the result that [Plaintiff] owns the property over which the river flows.... Depending on the height and flow of the river, [Plaintiff's] property may or may not be submerged on the south bank. When the river is low, a small portion of [Plaintiff's] property is exposed on the southern bank. When the river is high, all of [Plaintiff's] property on the south bank is completely submerged.

{6} On appeal, Plaintiff asserts that Defendant trespassed in two ways. One way was that Defendant's wall, although built on her property, in effect caused or required a trespass on his land because a gate in the wall and steps leading from the gate could not be used except to enter upon Plaintiff's land. The other way was that Defendant placed a hose or hoses over her wall and into the river in order to pump water from the river for irrigation purposes.

{7} The district court found:

48. The credible evidence before the Court fails to establish that [Defendant] has constructed walls or any other structures on [Plaintiff's] property.

....

52. [Defendant] did place hoses into the Rio Grande river for the purpose of irrigating her property. The credible evidence before the Court fails to establish that the hoses were actually placed on the ground owned by [Plaintiff]. To the extent that the hoses may have touched the property owned by [Plaintiff], [Plaintiff] was not damaged by such touching of his property.

The court concluded that Plaintiff failed to establish trespass.

{8} On appeal, Plaintiff claims that the district court's determination that Defendant did not trespass by placing the hoses in the river is inconsistent with the court's finding that Plaintiff owned a small portion of land on the south bank of the river as there is no other way for the hoses to go from Defendant's property to the river than to traverse a strip of Plaintiff's land. Plaintiff also claims that finding number 52 is inconsistent with the earlier boundary adjudication in the first quiet title action. Finally, Plaintiff argues that the district court's determination that Plaintiff failed to establish any damage even if a trespass occurred is contrary to trespass law, which Plaintiff posits requires at least nominal damages if there is an unauthorized entry.

{9} Findings of fact supported by substantial evidence will not be disturbed on appeal. Abbinett v. Fox, 103 N.M. 80, 84, 703 P.2d 177, 181 (Ct.App.1985). Substantial evidence is such evidence "that a reasonable mind would find adequate to support a conclusion." Sitterly v. Matthews, 2000-NMCA-037, ¶ 22, 129 N.M. 134, 2 P.3d 871.

{10} We conclude that there was substantial evidence in the record to support the district court's findings of fact and that the findings support the court's determination that Plaintiff failed to establish that Defendant trespassed on Plaintiff's property. The district court's findings essentially indicate that Plaintiff failed to meet his burden of establishing a preponderance of evidence that Defendant trespassed. We cannot overturn the determination with respect to Defendant or her guests entering onto Plaintiff's land by using the wall and steps or as to the hoses because of the district court's pivotal finding, which is not challenged, that when the river is high all of Plaintiff's property on the river's south bank is submerged. An unchallenged finding is binding on appeal. Stueber v. Pickard, 112 N.M. 489, 491, 816 P.2d 1111, 1113 (1991). To the extent that there may have been evidence of a trespass, the district court found that it was not credible when it determined that the "credible evidence ... fail[ed] to establish" a trespass. "[W]here there is conflicting evidence, the trial court, as fact finder, resolves all disparities in the testimony and determines the weight and credibility to be accorded to the witnesses." New Mexicans for Free Enter. v. City of Santa Fe, 2006-NMCA-007, ¶ 71, 138 N.M. 785, 126 P.3d 1149 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). We note that there was not any testimony or other evidence as to the height and flow of the river during the complained of hose entries or when Defendant or her guests accessed the river using the steps. Further, while Plaintiff's expert testified during direct examination that Defendant's wall was along the boundary where the hoses were and thus the hoses would have to have crossed Plaintiff's land to reach the river, on cross-examination Plaintiff's expert conceded that the wall may have been on Defendant's land set back several feet from the boundary. As such, we cannot overturn the district court's finding that there is no credible evidence that the hoses resulted in a trespass on Plaintiff's property.

{11} As we are upholding the district court's findings and determination that Plaintiff failed to establish trespass, we do not address Plaintiff's argument that the district court misinterpreted the law by determining that even if there were a trespass there were no damages. The district court's determination that even if there were a trespass there were no damages was in the form of an alternative determination to its finding that there simply was no trespass. Because we have upheld the court's finding that there was no trespass, there is no need to address the alternative determination. See Antillon v. N.M. State Highway Dep't, 113 N.M. 2, 8, 820 P.2d 436, 442 (Ct.App.1991) (refusing to address a party's argument based on case law where, based on factual findings which were supported by substantial evidence, addressing the issue would not change the outcome of the case).

Claim of Ownership of and Trespass on the Disputed Property East of Defendant's Property

{12} Two chains of title leading from Guadalupe T. Lujan have created the question of whether Defendant's easement on the disputed property is valid or whether Plaintiff owns the disputed property and Defendant has trespassed. The earlier of the two separate chains of title to the disputed property is traced from Guadalupe T. Lujan and her husband, J.O. Lujan, Sr. The Lujans conveyed the disputed property to Brian Patrick Bennett in 1958. The disputed property was eventually conveyed to Fassler. While Fassler held title to the property, she granted Defendant an easement. The latter of the two chains of title indicates that in 1967 Domitilia Montoya conveyed the disputed property to Guadalupe T. Lujan. Thereafter, Guadalupe T. Lujan conveyed the disputed property to her daughter Margaret T. Lujan. This chain of title eventually led to Plaintiff.

{13} The district court applied the...