Robert Walker & Susan Elder1 v. Smith
| Decision Date | 11 July 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. M2013-01816-COA-R3-CV,M2013-01816-COA-R3-CV |
| Parties | ROBERT WALKER AND SUSAN ELDER1 v. CHARLES SMITH v. CLIFFORD BYRNE AND WIFE, CAROL BYRNE |
| Court | Tennessee Court of Appeals |
ROBERT WALKER AND SUSAN ELDER1
v.
CHARLES SMITH
v.
CLIFFORD BYRNE AND WIFE, CAROL BYRNE
No. M2013-01816-COA-R3-CV
COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE
March 20, 2014 Session
Filed July 11, 2014
This appeal involves private condemnation of an easement. The plaintiffs and the defendant both owned property on an island in the Tennessee River. There was a causeway or land bridge across the river, connecting the island to the mainland. The trial court rejected the defendant's claim for private condemnation of an easement on the plaintiffs' property to enable the defendant to access the causeway. It also enjoined the defendant from using the causeway or from entering onto the plaintiffs' property to get to the causeway. The defendant appeals. We hold that the causeway is accessible by the public and so vacate the injunction. We reverse the trial court's decision on the defendant's private condemnation claim and hold that the defendant is entitled to condemnation of an appropriate easement under the facts of this case.
HOLLY M. KIRBY, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which DAVID R. FARMER, J., and J. STEVEN STAFFORD, J., joined.
J. Harvey Cameron, Jasper, Tennessee, for the Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff/Appellant, Charles Smith
Page 2
Susanne Lodico and McKinley S. Lundy, Jr., Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants/Appellees Robert Walker and Susan Elder
Counter-Defendants/Appellees Clifford Byrne and Carol Byrne, appellees, pro se (no brief filed)2
Once upon a time, Benton and Lillian Sexton owned two pieces of real property in Marion County, Tennessee. One of the parcels formerly owned by the Sextons is on an island in the Tennessee River, commonly called "Paradise Island." The other parcel is a smaller one on the mainland, fronting on the Tennessee River. The island lot is located directly across the river from their mainland lot, with about 400 feet of river separating the two.
Prior to 1977, there was no way to access Paradise Island by land; the only way to get to the island was by boat over the navigable waters of the Tennessee River. In 1976, Mr. Sexton applied for and was granted a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a causeway — essentially a raised land bridge — from his lot on the mainland ("land lot") directly to his lot on Paradise Island ("island lot"). The permit authorized Mr. Sexton to "place approximately 1800 cubic yards of fill material" in the river to construct "an 8' x 12' x 400' causeway" lined with riprap, loose stones for the foundation for the structure. The permit made Mr. Sexton responsible for maintaining the structure and keeping it "in good condition." The permit stated: "[T]his permit does not convey any property rights, either in real estate or material, or any exclusive privileges . . . ."
The Corps of Engineers expressly reserved the right to modify, suspend, or revoke the Sextons' permit. The Sextons were allowed to transfer the permit to a third party, provided they gave written prior notice to the Corps of Engineers and obtained written approval from the Corps of Engineers. In the event of a transfer, the transferee would be required to abide by all of the terms of the permit. The permit provided: "[I]f the permittee transfers the interests authorized herein by conveyance of realty, the deed shall reference this permit and the terms and conditions specified herein and this permit shall be recorded along with the deed . . . ."
The Sextons did not construct the causeway. Instead, in July 1977, a few months after the Corps of Engineers granted the permit, the Sextons sold both lots to two couples jointly, one half to E. David and Ruth Walker and the other half to Vernon T. and Mary Dell Blevins
Page 3
Smith (collectively, "Purchasers"). As per the language in the permit, the Sextons attached the Corps of Engineers permit to the warranty deed, thus transferring to the Purchasers "the interests authorized" in the permit.
Soon after the purchase, the Purchasers set about constructing the causeway. The Purchasers invested considerable time, effort, and money into constructing the causeway. It required the use of large power equipment such as bulldozers, backhoes, and dump trucks, to move soil and large rocks into place in the river. The Purchasers installed culverts at the bottom of the causeway so that it would not impede the flow of the river.
The Purchasers completed construction of the causeway by the end of the summer of 1978. It spans the river and connects the Purchasers' mainland property to the island property. The top of the causeway is not paved, and is essentially a single-lane dirt road.
On the mainland, the public road closest to the causeway is nearby Mullins Cove Road. The causeway is connected to Mullins Cove Road by a one-lane paved driveway that cuts across property owned by the Purchasers and their neighbors, Clifford and Carol Byrne. To control the use of the causeway, the Purchasers erected a gate at the entrance of the causeway. So, to get to the island from Mullins Cove Road, one must turn off of Mullins Cove Road onto the paved driveway, which traverses the property of the Purchasers and the Byrnes; then, at the end of the driveway, one must open the gate and go through it to enter the causeway to get to the island.
On Paradise Island, the causeway exits onto the Purchasers' island property. It is necessary to traverse the Purchasers' island property at the end of the causeway to get to anywhere else on the island from the causeway. So, the end result is that both openings to the causeway, on the island end and on the mainland end, connect to property owned by the Purchasers.
At some point, the Purchasers subdivided part of their island property into eight or nine lots. The Purchasers sold the lots and a home was built on each lot. Most of the homes on these lots are vacation homes, occupied mainly on weekends. The deeds conveying the lots included right-of-way over the Purchasers' island property and their mainland property for ingress to and egress from the island via the causeway.3 In sum, for over 30 years, only the Purchasers and those who purchased island lots from the Purchasers used the causeway to go to and from Paradise Island.
Page 4
Over time, the property owned by the Purchasers passed to their children, the plaintiffs in this action. Half of the property is now owned by Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant/Appellee Robert Walker and the other half is owned by Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant/Appellee Susan Elder ("Owners"). The passage of title to the property did not affect how the causeway was used or maintained.
In 2012, Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff/Appellant Charles Smith (no relation to the Purchasers named Smith) sought to purchase a lot on Paradise Island from property owner Rachel Harris. The island lot in which Mr. Smith expressed interest consists of about three acres of undeveloped forest land, fronting on the Tennessee River and bordered by private property. One border of the lot adjoins the road that sits on the Owners' property, the same road that connects the causeway to the island. Ms. Harris also owns property on the mainland adjacent to the Owners' mainland property. She did not sell her mainland property to Mr. Smith.
When Mr. Smith visited Ms. Harris's island lot for the first time, he saw that access to the causeway was blocked by a gate. Despite this, Mr. Smith contracted with Ms. Harris to buy the island property without first obtaining permission from the Owners to go on their property and access Paradise Island via the causeway. After Mr. Smith purchased Ms. Harris's island lot, he demanded that the Owners give him access to the causeway to get to his island property from the mainland. The Owners refused.
That dispute led to the instant lawsuit. On November 16, 2012, the Owners filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against Mr. Smith in the Chancery Court for Marion County, Tennessee. The complaint sought injunctive relief against Mr. Smith, to enjoin him from trespassing on the Owners' property and from using the causeway. The complaint asserted: "The Causeway is privately owned [by the Owners] and does not connect to a public road." The complaint indicated that the Owners sought to limit access to the causeway "in order to prevent deterioration and damage, particularly caused by heavy equipment." The Owners asserted in the complaint that the island lot Mr. Smith contracted to purchase from Ms. Harris "has never been owned by the [Owners] or their predecessors in title" and that Ms. Harris "did not contribute to the cost of building or maintaining the Causeway and does not have any right to access the [Owners'] Land Lot or Causeway." The O wners asked the trial court to determine the legal rights of the parties, declare that Mr. Smith has no legal right to access the private property of the Owners, and enjoin Mr. Smith from accessing either their property or the causeway. The Owners also asked the trial court to issue a temporary injunction...
To continue reading
Request your trial