Stansbury v. MDR DEV., LLC

• Decision Date: 04 April 2005
• Docket Number: No. 1555,1555
• Citation: 871 A.2d 612,161 Md. App. 594
• Parties: Nancy R. STANSBURY v. MDR DEVELOPMENT, L.L.C.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

871 A.2d 612

161 Md. App. 594

Nancy R. STANSBURY v. MDR DEVELOPMENT, L.L.C.

No. 1555, September Term, 2003.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

April 4, 2005.

Charles R. Schaller (Sarah Andrews, Schaller & Gorski, L.L.P., on the brief), Annapolis, for Appellant.

Cynthia E. Young, Annapolis, for Appellee.

Panel: HOLLANDER, KENNEY, and MEREDITH, JJ.

KENNEY, Judge.

Appellant/cross-appellee, Nancy R. Stansbury, appeals the decision of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County permitting appellee/cross-appellant, MDR Development, L.L.C. ("MDR"), to construct a footbridge above a submerged portion of her property, title to which she traces to a land patent. Ms. Stansbury presents three questions, which we have consolidated and rewritten as follows:¹

1. Did the circuit court err in finding that MDR could construct a footbridge above the submerged portion of property owned by Ms. Stansbury?

2. Did the circuit court err in finding that the construction of the footbridge above Ms. Stansbury's submerged property did not constitute a trespass?

MDR poses one question in the alternative, which we have reworded as follows:²

Did the circuit court err in denying MDR an easement over Ms. Stansbury's property?

For the following reasons, we shall vacate and remand to the circuit court for the entry of a declaratory judgment recognizing MDR's easement for the construction of a footbridge.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This case concerns property located in the Pleasant Plains subdivision in Anne Arundel County, Maryland and shown below.

Our primary focus is on lots 178, 179, 9A, and 10A, which, along with the other lots shown, were platted prior to the creation of the channel. As platted, lots 179 and 10A shared a common lot line, as do lots 178 and 9A. The common lot lines are below and approximately midway the channel. The depth of the channel varies with the tide, but it is stipulated to be navigable. The channel provides the eight lots shown above with water access to Pleasant Lake and, through the lake, to the Chesapeake Bay.³

On April 2, 1936, James Edward Stansbury, Ms. Stansbury's father, acquired fee simple title to these four lots, subject to a life estate in Mallee B. Moore, Ms. Stansbury's maternal grandmother. At the time, Mr. Stansbury lived on Lot 7A, and in the mid 1950s he dredged the channel. After the channel was created, a footbridge, approximately 100 to 150 feet in length, was constructed over the channel in lots 9A and 178. Laura Stansbury, Ms. Stansbury's mother, who resided on Lot 7A, used the footbridge to visit and care for her mother, Mallee B. Moore, who resided on Lot 179. The middle portion of the footbridge could be removed to allow small boats to traverse the channel and seek safe harbor during storms.

According to Ms. Stansbury, the Stansburys had little reason to utilize the footbridge after Mallee B. Moore's death in 1973, and it fell into a "state of disuse." The Stansburys, who lived on Lot 7A, and who had access to Lot 10A across lots 8A and 9A, made little use of Lot 10A as the result of extensive erosion. She described Lot 10A as a "rubble filled marshland with an old pier that extends into the Chesapeake Bay."

James Edward Stansbury died testate on March 25, 1977; Ms. Stansbury, Laura Stansbury, and Ms. Stansbury's brother, James Elijah Stansbury, were the legatees of Mr. Stansbury's property. On December 12, 1984, Laura Stansbury, individually and as personal representative of her husband's estate, entered into an Agreement of Distribution with her children to convey title to lots 178, 179, 9A, and 10A to the children as tenants in common as a part of their inheritance. The children, in turn, would determine how the lots would be divided between them. For whatever reason, Laura Stansbury did not abide by the agreement; she never conveyed the lots to her children.

On December 30, 1986, Ms. Stansbury, who had resided on Lot 179 since 1983, executed a deed transferring her interest in lots 178 and 10A to her brother, and he executed a deed transferring his interest in lots 179 and 9A to her. Later, because Laura Stansbury had not transferred the lots to the children, Ms. Stansbury filed a complaint to compel her mother to execute the deeds. Michael R. Robyler was appointed as a trustee to complete the transfer, and in March 1987, Ms. Stansbury and her brother were deeded fee simple title to their respective lots, as contemplated by the December 30, 1986 conveyances.

On February 22, 1988, James Elijah Stansbury mortgaged his two lots, 178 and 10A, to secure a $200,000 note to Francis C. and Shirley C. Cole. He defaulted on the note, and, in 1995, the property was acquired at a foreclosure sale by David L. and Charlotte Caldwell and James L. and Margaret F. Thrift (hereinafter collectively "Caldwell").

When David Caldwell visited the property prior to the foreclosure sale, he observed an uninhabitable house on Lot 178, the pier located on Lot 10A, and the footbridge. He testified that the footbridge was in "passable" condition at that time, and that Ms. Stansbury had escorted him across the footbridge during his visit. Later, when he requested her permission to repair the footbridge to facilitate travel to Lot 10A, Ms. Stansbury would not agree. She expressed interest in purchasing lots 178 and 10A from Caldwell, but no agreement was reached. Sometime in 1997, an "eight to twelve" foot long portion from the center of the footbridge was removed and a "no trespassing" sign was posted on the portion of the footbridge located on Lot 9A.

In 1997, Caldwell obtained a variance from Anne Arundel County to construct a residence on Lot 178. On April 20, 1998, Caldwell entered into an agreement with the County to treat lots 178 and 10A as one lot. The agreement, which was recorded among the land records of Anne Arundel County, provided that

all interior lot lines connecting [lots 178 and 10A] shall no longer be considered lot lines for any purposes, including those set forth in the Anne Arundel County Code; it being the intent of both parties that the aforementioned lot shall be considered now and forevermore as one single lot or parcel of ground and that all other requirements of law now in full force and effect or hereinafter effective shall be applicable as if such property is one parcel of ground.

On October 13, 1998, in a document entitled Declaration of Easement Conditions and Restrictions, which was recorded in the land records of Anne Arundel County, Caldwell agreed not to construct any structure on Lot 10A, with the exception of a footbridge after obtaining all necessary Federal, State, and local permits for its construction. As proposed, the footbridge would extend across the channel from Lot 178 directly to Lot 10A. The right to construct the footbridge is at the heart of this controversy.

In 1999, Caldwell initiated a two-count complaint against Ms. Stansbury, asserting entitlement to an easement across a portion of lot 9A in order to gain access to 10A. The complaint sought declaratory relief in addition to monetary damages in the amount of $100,000. Michael D. Reisinger, sole owner of MDR, had first visited lots 178 and 10A in 1996 or 1997. MDR purchased the lots from Caldwell on October 15, 2001. On October 25, 2001, MDR was substituted as the party plaintiff. Trial was held on September 27, 2002, and November 1, 2002. In addition to the evidence summarized above, Ms. Stansbury offered evidence as to how her property, lots 179 and 9A, would be adversely affected by the construction of the footbridge. She also testified that a footbridge would obstruct navigation in the channel and lower the property values of the riparian owners.

John Dowling, admitted as an expert witness "in the fields of title searching, real property issues, and surveying," testified that in 1807 a land patent was issued to the land known as Grammer's Pleasant Plains. According to Dowling, as a result of that land patent, Ms. Stansbury is the "supreme" title holder of those portions of lots 179 and 9A beneath the channel over which the footbridge would cross.

On August 19, 2003, in a memorandum opinion and order, the circuit court determined that

[MDR] is not entitled to the declaration of an easement over [Ms. Stansbury's] property to facilitate pedestrian travel between Lots 178 and 10A. [MDR] is entitled to construct a footbridge — subject to all Federal, State and local regualtions [sic] — between Lots 178 and 10A free from any unsubstantiated claim by [Ms. Stansbury] that said footbridge will interfere with her property rights to a portion of land submerged beneath the water in the channel.

Ms. Stansbury noted this timely appeal and MDR cross-appealed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Maryland Rule 8-131(c) provides:

Action tried without a jury. When an action has been tried without a jury, the appellate court will review the case on both the law and the evidence. It will not set aside the judgment of the trial court on the evidence unless clearly erroneous, and will give due regard to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses.

As to the circuit court's factual findings, we look to whether those findings were supported by "substantial evidence" in the record. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Maryland Auto. Ins. Fund, 154 Md.App. 604, 609, 841 A.2d 46 (2004). When" `there is any competent, material evidence to support the factual findings below, we cannot hold those findings to be clearly erroneous.'" Cannon v. Cannon, 156 Md.App. 387, 404, 846 A.2d 1127 (2004) (citing Shallow Run Ltd. Partnership v. State Highway Admin., 113 Md.App. 156, 174, 686 A.2d 1113 (1996)), aff'd 384 Md. 537, 865 A.2d 563, 2005 WL 48605 (2005). "Although the factual determinations of the circuit court are afforded significant deference on review, its legal determinations are not." Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 154 Md.App. at 609, 841 A.2d 46. "Indeed, the appropriate inquiry for such...