Steele v. O'Neal

• Decision Date: 13 January 2012
• Docket Number: 2100259.
• Citation: 87 So.3d 559
• Parties: Otha STEELE and Harold E. Steele v. Hugh O'NEAL, Lonnie Hill, and Anita Hill.
• Court: Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

87 So.3d 559

Otha STEELE and Harold E. Steele

v.Hugh O'NEAL, Lonnie Hill, and Anita Hill.

2100259.

Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama.

Aug. 26, 2011.

Certiorari Denied Jan. 13, 2012

Alabama Supreme Court 1101451.

Jerry Wayne Baker, Jr., Albertville, for appellants.

John F. Porter III, Scottsboro, for appellees.

PER CURIAM.

Otha Steele and Harold E. Steele (“the Steeles”) ¹ appeal from a judgment of the Jackson Circuit Court granting Hugh O'Neal, Lonnie Hill, and Anita Hill a private easement by prescription over an unpaved roadway (“the roadway”) that crosses the Steeles' property and denying the Steeles the monetary damages they had requested.

The Steeles own a parcel of property in Jackson County, and the roadway crosses a portion of that property. O'Neal owns a parcel of property that abuts the Steeles' property; his only means of vehicular access to this property is by means of the roadway. The Hills own a parcel of property that adjoins O'Neal's property; like O'Neal, the Hills can only access their property by the roadway.

On November 6, 2002, O'Neal filed a complaint alleging that Otha Steele and her husband, James Steele, had interfered with his use of the roadway. O'Neal requested a temporary restraining order (“TRO”), a preliminary injunction, and a permanent injunction enjoining Otha and James from interfering with his use of the roadway. In his complaint, O'Neal presented alternate theories to support his request for injunctive relief: (1) that the roadway was a public road and (2) that he had acquired a private easement by prescription by virtue of his and his predecessors in title's use of the roadway for more than 20 years. On November 6, 2002, the trial court entered the TRO and set the matter for a hearing on November 13, 2002. After the hearing, the trial court entered a preliminary injunction enjoining Otha and James, or anyone acting on their behalf, from interfering with O'Neal's use of the roadway and allowed O'Neal to erect a gate across the roadway. O'Neal was required to provide Otha and James with a key to the gate. The trial court also allowed O'Neal to use the roadway until January 1, 2003, to remove timber harvested on his property; however, O'Neal was responsible for repairing the roadway to restore it to the condition it was in before the timber was removed. On January 22, 2003, Lonnie Hill moved to intervene in the action, asserting that he was an adjoining landowner and that he had an interest in the use of the roadway.

Otha and James answered O'Neal's complaint, denying all of its material allegations. On May 5, 2003, Otha and James filed a counterclaim against O'Neal and various fictitiously named defendants, claiming that O'Neal and others had trespassed on their property, had damaged timber, had caused damage to the land and roadways by flooding and erosion, and had diminished the value of the Steeles' property. Otha and James requested $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages. O'Neal answered the counterclaim, denying all of its material allegations.

Approximately one year later, on May 18, 2004, Otha and James filed a third-party complaint against Lonnie Hill's wife, Anita, and Mark Henley ² alleging that O'Neal, the Hills, and Henley had trespassed on their property; had damaged their land, fences, timber, roadway, and bridge; and had removed a gate that they had erected on the property. Otha and James again requested compensatory and punitive damages. They also filed an amended counterclaim on May 18, 2004, alleging that O'Neal, the Hills, and Henley had violated the trial court's November 18, 2002, order by continuing to trespass on their property and had caused further damage to the property. On the same date, Otha filed a suggestion of death for James.

On January 7, 2005, Harold E. Steele, James and Otha's son, filed a motion to intervene, alleging that he was a co-owner of the property across which ran the roadway. The trial court granted Harold's motion on January 11, 2005. Harold answered O'Neal's complaint, denying all of its material allegations. Harold also adopted the claims asserted by Otha in her counterclaim and third-party complaint.

On January 15, 2005, O'Neal and the Hills filed an amended complaint, claiming that the Steeles had violated the trial court's preliminary injunction by interfering with O'Neal's right to use the roadway to access his property; the Hills asserted that the Steeles had also interfered with their use of the roadway. O'Neal and the Hills requested that the trial court hold the Steeles in contempt for their violation of the preliminary injunction. O'Neal and the Hills also filed a motion seeking to broaden the scope of the preliminary injunction to explicitly apply to the Hills and Harold. The trial court, over the Steeles' objection, granted that motion on February 4, 2005.

The trial of the matter took place on February 28, 2006. The trial court heard ore tenus evidence from numerous witnesses regarding the character and use of the roadway. The evidence adduced at trial tended to show the following.

The roadway, which is unpaved, has been in existence since at least 1911. Witnesses testified that in 1968, a public bridge on the main road over Big Coon Creek washed out. While that bridge was impassable, six or seven families used the roadway and its bridge to access their properties. A school bus and a mail-delivery vehicle also traveled on the roadway while the bridge was out. Larry Glass, who does not own any property accessible by the roadway, testified that in the 1970s, he often used the roadway to take his sons fishing.

J.D. Phillips, who formerly owned the property owned by O'Neal and the Hills, was unable to attend the trial because of ill health, and his deposition testimony was submitted into evidence. Phillips said that in 1972, he purchased the land that included the parcels now owned by the Hills and O'Neal. Phillips testified that he used the roadway crossing the Steeles' property for at least 12 years to access his property. He said that he also used the roadway to haul timber from his property to the county road that intersects with the roadway. Phillips also said that he made improvements to the roadway.

Harold Steele said that his parents moved to their property in 1984, but it had been in the family for decades. Also in 1984, the Hills purchased their parcel of property from Phillips. Phillips took Lonnie Hill to the property by way of the roadway, crossing the Steeles' property. Phillips told Hill that the roadway was the only way to access his property. Since 1984, the Hills have continuously used the roadway to access their property. They eventually built a cabin on the property and used the roadway to bring building materials to the site. In 1984, Lonnie Hill said, he installed a gate at the roadway's entrance from County Road 53. He testified that, at that time, he gave James Steele a lock and key to the gate. Harold testified that from 1970 until Hill put up the gate, there had been a cable across the roadway's entrance.

Larry Cheatwood and Geraldine Cheatwood purchased a parcel of property from Phillips, and O'Neal purchased that parcel from the Cheatwoods in 1993. O'Neal testified that he used the roadway to access his property for hunting, harvesting timber, and “rig racing.” Hill provided O'Neal with a key to the gate at the roadway's entrance. O'Neal said that the utility company also had a key to the gate so that it could reach the Hills' property to read the electric meter at the Hills' cabin each month.

In 2002, O'Neal hired Thompson & Harwood (“Thompson”) to harvest the timber on his property. To facilitate the hauling of timber, Thompson cleared the roadway, added rock to part of the roadway, and “smoothed it out” to make it passable for its logging trucks. No one at Thompson had any conversations with Otha, James, or Harold before making the improvements to the roadway. Todd Langston, who worked for Thompson at the time the improvements were made, testified that the only way to access O'Neal's property was by the roadway.

When the timber harvesting began, the Hills and O'Neal began having trouble with Otha and James concerning the use of the roadway. James “reconfigured” the lock on the gate so that Thompson workers could not unlock it to access the roadway. O'Neal testified that he and Otha and James had agreed to allow the gate to stay open so that the timber harvesters could come and go. O'Neal also said that Thompson agreed to repair any damage that might occur on the roadway's bridge and to grade the roadway. Despite the agreement, Otha and James continued to attempt to deny O'Neal, the Hills, and Thompson's employees access to the roadway. Tacks and nails were placed on the roadway. Langston described discussions with Otha and James as “extremely difficult” and said that Otha and James would confront the workers and tell them they could not use the roadway. Eventually, O'Neal said, there were “some shots fired” from the county road, and Thompson had its employees stop work at the O'Neal property until the situation could be resolved.

Even after the preliminary injunction was issued in November 2002, Otha, James, and Harold continued in their efforts to prevent O'Neal and the Hills from using the roadway. Lonnie Hill testified to an incident that occurred in 2005. He explained that he was attempting to use the roadway to reach his property when Otha and a man he later learned was John Hallman blocked his way. Hallman told Hill the roadway was private and that he “best not go up it.” The confrontation resulted in a physical altercation between Hill and Hallman.

More than four years after the trial, on July 27, 2010, the trial court entered its judgment.³ In the judgment, the trial judge stated that she had “physically viewed the subject property.” The court determined that O'Neal and the Hills had established a private easement by prescription over the roadway,...