Roberts v. Henson
Citation | 72 N.E.3d 1019 |
Decision Date | 18 April 2017 |
Docket Number | Court of Appeals Case No. 10A01-1607-PL-1647 |
Parties | Wanda ROBERTS, et al. Appellants-Petitioners, v. Anthony HENSON, Appellee-Respondent. |
Court | Court of Appeals of Indiana |
Attorney for Appellants : Larry O. Wilder, Jeffersonville, Indiana
Attorneys for Appellee : Richard R. Fox, Steven A. Gustafson, Fox Law Offices, LLC, New Albany, Indiana
[1] Wanda and Ray Roberts, along with seventeen of their neighbors (collectively "the Appellants"), appeal the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Anthony Henson and the denial of their motion for summary judgment. We reverse and remand.
[2] The restated issue before us is whether the trial court correctly concluded as a matter of law that a structure built by Henson in the Appellants' neighborhood did not violate the neighborhood's restrictive covenants.
[3] Since 1961, the Roberts have owned a home at 114 Altra Drive in Clarksville, in the Altra Subdivision neighborhood. Construction in the neighborhood is governed by restrictive covenants adopted and recorded in 1956. One of the covenants provides: Appellants' App. p. 18. Another provision states: "No structure of a temporary character, trailer, basement, tent, shack, garage, barn, or other outbuilding shall be used on any lot at any time as a residence either temporarily or permanently." Id. at 19.
[4] In November 2012, Henson purchased a lot next door to the Roberts at 112 Altra Drive; the lot was vacant after the previous residence on the lot burned down. Henson filed a residential building application with the Town of Clarksville to build a structure on the lot. The application stated that the structure would have two stories, with 1,760 square feet of living space and 3,200 square feet of garage space. Attached to the application were the following drawings of the proposed structure:
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[5] Thus, it appears from the drawings that the structure would consist of a two-story living area connected to a four-bay garage. Engineering reports prepared for the structure described it as a "barn." Id. at 56. The Town of Clarksville granted a permit to Henson to build the proposed structure, but noted, "Research of the covenants for this neighborhood is highly recommended!" Id. at 59.
[6] On March 18, 2013, after Henson began construction of his structure, the Roberts filed a "Petition to Enforce Restrictive Covenants" and a petition for an emergency restraining order compelling Henson to cease construction. Id. at 14. The trial court did not hold a hearing on the restraining order request. Seventeen other residents of the neighborhood subsequently intervened in the suit against Henson as plaintiffs. Henson eventually completed and moved into his structure while this litigation was pending.
[7] On September 24, 2015, Henson filed a motion for summary judgment. Accompanying the motion was an affidavit from W. House Canter, a retired member of the State Home Inspector Board. In the affidavit, Canter stated, that Henson's "house is a single family dwelling with 1.5 stories," and that it had Appellee's App. p. 5. There is a grainy photograph of Henson's building attached to Canter's affidavit; it is not possible to discern much from the photograph other than it depicts two levels of windows above ground at the front. The affidavit also made the following observations about other houses in the neighborhood:
[8] Id. at 6. Henson also submitted an affidavit on his own behalf, stating in part:
[9] On April 14, 2016, the Appellants responded to Henson's motion and filed their own motion for summary judgment. Submitted with the Appellants' motion was an affidavit from professional home and commercial builder Troy Briner. Briner opined that after viewing Henson's building in photographs and in person, "it is my expert opinion that the building constructed on 112 Altra Drive, Clarksville, Indiana is what it was purported to be when the applications were secured from the town of Clarksville" and "that the building constructed is a 40 foot by 100 foot Pole Barn as described in all of the legal documents filed with the town." App. p. 108.
[10] On June 23, 2016, the trial court denied the Appellants' motion for summary judgment and granted Henson's motion. The Appellants now appeal.
[11] When reviewing a grant of summary judgment, we must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party and affirm only " ‘if the designated evidentiary matter shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.’ "
Siner v. Kindred Hosp. Ltd. P'ship , 51 N.E.3d 1184, 1187 (Ind. 2016) (quoting Ind. Trial Rule 56(C) ). Careful scrutiny must be given to a grant of summary judgment to ensure that the losing party was not improperly denied its day in court. Id. "Indiana's distinctive summary judgment standard imposes a heavy factual burden on the movant to demonstrate the absence of any genuine issue of material fact on at least one element of the claim." Id. In determining whether summary judgment was properly granted, we consider only the evidentiary matter the parties specifically designated to the trial court. Sargent v. State , 27 N.E.3d 729, 731 (Ind. 2015). "The fact that the parties have filed cross-motions for summary judgment does not alter our standard for review, as we consider each motion separately to determine whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Reed v. Reid , 980 N.E.2d 277, 285 (Ind. 2012).
[12] "A restrictive covenant is an express contract between grantor and grantee that restrains the grantee's use of land." Harness v. Parkar , 965 N.E.2d 756, 760 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012). Such covenants maintain or enhance the value of land by restraining or regulating groups of properties. Id. at 760-61. Covenants control many aspects of land use, including what may be built on the land, how the land may be used, and alienability of the land. Id. at 761. "Property owners who purchase their properties subject to such restrictions give up a certain degree of individual freedom in exchange for the protections from living in a community of reciprocal undertakings." Villas W. II of Willowridge Homeowners Ass'n, Inc. v. McGlothin , 885 N.E.2d 1274, 1279 (Ind. 2008). Such covenants " ‘are clothed with a very strong presumption of validity which arises from the fact that each individual unit owner purchases his unit knowing of and accepting the restrictions to be imposed.’ " Id. (quoting Hidden Harbour Estates, Inc. v. Basso , 393 So.2d 637, 639 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1981) ).
[13] "Covenants are a form of express contract, and we apply the same rules of construction when a dispute arises as to the covenants' terms." Harness , 965 N.E.2d at 761. When we must interpret restrictive covenants, they should be strictly construed, with any doubts resolved in favor of the free use of property and against restrictions. Id. The covenanting parties' intent should be determined from the language of the covenants and the situation of the parties when the covenant was made. Id. In addition, the covenants must be read in their entirety, and differing provisions should be harmonized so as not to render any terms ineffective or meaningless. Id. Unambiguous language in a restrictive covenant must be given its plain, usual, and ordinary meaning. Johnson v. Dawson , 856 N.E.2d 769, 773 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). Although construction of written contracts, including restrictive covenants, ordinarily is a question of law for which summary judgment is particularly appropriate, "where the intent of the parties cannot be determined within the four corners of the document, a factual determination is necessary to give effect to the parties' reasonable expectations." Campbell v. Spade , 617 N.E.2d 580, 584 (Ind. Ct. App. 1993). "When summary judgment is granted based on the construction of a written contract, the trial court has either determined as a matter of law that the contract is not ambiguous or uncertain, or that any contract ambiguity can be resolved without the aid of a factual determination." Rusnak v. Brent Wagner Architects , 55 N.E.3d 834, 840-41 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016), trans. denied .
[14] The first question raised by the parties is whether Henson's structure was a "...
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