Ronnie v. Martin
| Decision Date | 06 May 2011 |
| Docket Number | NUMBER 2010 CA 2131 |
| Parties | RONNIE V . MARTIN, PATSY MARTIN KINSELLA, RUSSELL ROBERT, BRITTNI ROBERT, CHRISTOPHER JAMES BOURGEOIS AND BRANDIFALGOUST BOURGEOIS v. BLANE JOSEPH SOLAR, JODI WALKER SOLAR, CYCIL J. LABAUVE, REGINA RODDY LABAUVE, MONIQUE RENEE WHITE, LAUREANO SIORDIA SIQUEIROS AND ELVA DIAZ SIQUEIROS |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
RONNIE V . MARTIN, PATSY MARTIN KINSELLA, RUSSELL ROBERT,
BRITTNI ROBERT, CHRISTOPHER JAMES BOURGEOIS
AND BRANDIFALGOUST BOURGEOIS
v.
BLANE JOSEPH SOLAR, JODI WALKER SOLAR, CYCIL J. LABAUVE,
REGINA RODDY LABAUVE, MONIQUE RENEE WHITE, LAUREANO SIORDIA SIQUEIROS
AND ELVA DIAZ SIQUEIROS
NUMBER 2010 CA 2131
STATE OF LOUISIANA COURT OF APPEAL FIRST CIRCUIT
Judgment Rendered: May 6, 2011
Larry W. Buquoi
Gonzales, LA
Counsel for Plaintiffs/Appellees,
Ronnie Martin, Patsy Kinsella,
Russell Robert, Brittni Robert,
Christopher Bourgeois and Brandi
Bourgeois
George O. Luce
James C. Caver
Lawrence E. Marino
Baton Rouge, LA
Counsel for Defendants/Appellants,
Blane Solar, Jodi Solar, Cyril
LaBauve, and Regina LaBauve
BEFORE: WHIPPLE, McDONALD, AND McCLENDON, JJ.
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WHIPPLE , J.
The dispute between the parties in this appeal centers around the location of a forty-foot right-of-way in Ascension Parish and, consequently, plaintiffs' right to access their property from the right-of-way. The trial court granted a partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs with remaining claims, declaring that the right-of-way had been dedicated to the public, that the road contained within the right-of-way is a public road, that the right-of-way is adjacent to plaintiffs' property, and that plaintiffs have full and uninterrupted access to their property from the right-of way.1 For the following reasons, we affirm.
Plaintiffs, Ronnie V. Martin, Patsy Martin Kinsella, Russell Robert, Brittni Robert, Christopher James Bourgeois, and Brandi Falgoust Bourgeois, are the owners of immovable property in Section 38, Township 9 South, Range 3 East in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. Plaintiffs filed suit for declaratory judgment against defendants, Blane Joseph Solar, Jodi Walker Solar, Cyril J. LaBauve, 2 Regina Roddy LaBauve, Monique Renee White, Laureano Siordia Siqueiros, and Elva Diaz Siqueiros, who were all owners of lots in James Lewis Subdivision, also located in Section 38, Township 9 South, Range 3 East in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, and adjacent to plaintiffs' property.
In their petition, plaintiffs contended that all of the lots and tracts of immovable property owned by plaintiffs and defendants were serviced and accessed by a parish road known as Tiger Lewis Road. According to
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plaintiffs' petition, Tiger Lewis Road is contained within a forty-foot right-of-way as shown and dedicated as a public right-of-way on a January 11, 1989 survey map prepared by Willard J. Cointment, Jr., when James V. "Tiger" Lewis, defendants' ancestor-in-title, subdivided his property into the lots comprising James Lewis Subdivision. They further averred that the January 11, 1989 survey map, prepared by Cointment, subdividing Tiger Lewis's property and dedicating to the public a forty-foot right-of-way along the western edge of his property, was recorded in the official records of the Clerk of Court of Ascension Parish, and Tiger Lewis Road was later accepted by Ascension Parish as an official roadway for the public.
Plaintiffs also asserted that the forty-foot right-of-way, as clearly depicted on the January 11, 1989 survey map, begins on the western boundaries of the tracts owned by defendants and that the western boundary of the forty-foot right-of-way is also adjacent to and contiguous with the eastern boundaries of plaintiffs' properties, thus allowing plaintiffs access to their property from the right-of-way.
Accordingly, plaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment against defendants, declaring that: (1) the forty-foot right-of-way containing Tiger Lewis Road and depicted on the January 11, 1989 survey map is dedicated to the public and is a public road; (2) the western boundary of the forty-foot right-of-way is also the western boundary of defendants' tracts of immovable property and is the same line as the eastern boundary of plaintiffs' tracts of immovable property; and (3) plaintiffs, as present owners of immovable property adjacent to the forty-foot right-of-way, and all future owners of those tracts, shall have full and uninterrupted access to their property from the forty-foot right-of-way dedicated to the public in the formation of James Lewis Subdivision.
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Additionally, two plaintiffs, Martin and Kinsella, also sought damages against Cyril and Regina LaBauve, contending that the LaBauves had caused them damages by attempting to restrict or prevent them from accessing their property from Tiger Lewis Road. Martin and Kinsella further contended that they had pending purchase agreements for the sale of their property, but that the LaBauves had caused the delay in the sales of their tracts of land by calling the closing attorney and threatening to restrict access to the property being sold by Martin and Kinsella from the forty-foot right-of-way.
Defendants, on the other hand, denied that the right-of-way extended all the way to the western boundary of their lots and, thus, denied that the western boundary of the right-of-way was contiguous with the eastern boundaries of plaintiffs' properties.
However, plaintiffs subsequently entered into a stipulated judgment with three defendants, White, Laureano Siqueiros, and Elva Siqueiros, which was signed by the trial court on June 2, 2010. Pursuant to the stipulated judgment, the trial court rendered judgment in favor of plaintiffs and against those three defendants, declaring that: (1) the forty-foot right-of-way shown on the January 11, 1989 survey map, which contains Tiger Lewis Road, is a public servitude and is affirmed as being dedicated to the benefit of the public and further that Tiger Lewis Road is a public road dedicated to the benefit of the public; (2) the western boundary of the forty-foot right-of-way shown on the January 11, 1989 survey map is also the western boundary of Tract A-8 owned by defendant White and of Tract A-9 owned by defendants Laureano Siqueiros and Elva Siqueiros, and the western boundary of the forty-foot right-of-way is the eastern boundary of Tract Z-2 owned by plaintiffs Russell Robert and Brittni Robert and of Tract Z-3 owned by plaintiffs Christopher Bourgeois and Brandi Bourgeois; and (3)
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that plaintiffs Russell Robert and Brittni Robert, as the owners of Tract Z-2, and Christopher Bourgeois and Brandi Bourgeois, as the owners of Tract Z-3, and all future owners of said tracts or any parts thereof, shall have free, full, and uninterrupted access to their respective properties from the forty-foot right-of-way as shown on the January 11, 1989 survey map. Having resolved the issues between plaintiffs and these defendants, the consent judgment further dismissed with prejudice all other claims of all plaintiffs against White, Laureano Siqueiros, and Elva Siqueiros. Further, given that the issue of access to the property of Russell and Brittni Robert and Christopher and Brandi Bourgeois from the forty-foot right-of-way and from Tiger Lewis Road was resolved by the consent judgment, these four plaintiffs had no further justiciable claims pending before the trial court.
Accordingly, the claims remaining to be resolved included Martin and Kinsella's claims for declaratory judgment against the Solars and the LaBauves and for damages against the LaBauves. In that regard, Martin and Kinsella filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking judgment against the Solars and LaBauves declaring the existence of a servitude of passage in favor of the public on the forty-foot right-of-way at issue and their right to use Tiger Lewis Road to access their property. Thus, their motion sought judgment on their declaratory judgment claim only, reserving their damage claims for another day.3
Following a hearing on the motion, the trial court rendered judgment dated July 1, 2010, in favor of Martin and Kinsella and against the Solars and LaBauves, declaring: (1) that Tiger Lewis Road in Ascension Parish is
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a public road and that the forty-foot right-of-way, as shown on the January 11, 1989 survey map and in which Tiger Lewis Road is contained, was dedicated to the public; (2) that the western boundary of the forty-foot right-of-way is the same line as the western boundary of Tract A-5 and Lot A-6-A owned by defendants Blane Solar and Jodi Solar, and is the same line as the western boundary of Lot A-6-B and Tract A-7 owned by Cyril LaBauve and Regina LaBauve; (3) that the western boundary of the forty-foot right-of-way is the same line as the eastern boundaries of Tracts Z-4 and Z-5 owned by plaintiffs Ronnie Martin and Patsy Kinsella; and (4) that Martin and Kinsella as owners Tracts Z-4 and Z-5 and all future owners of the tracts at issue herein shall have free, full, and uninterrupted access to their property from the forty-foot right-of-way.
From this judgment, the Solars and the LaBauves appeal.4 They list four assignments of error, contending that the...
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