Brantley v. Meeks

142 So. 3d 567, 2012 WL 4040374, 2012 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 250
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedSeptember 14, 2012
Docket2110585
StatusPublished

This text of 142 So. 3d 567 (Brantley v. Meeks) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brantley v. Meeks, 142 So. 3d 567, 2012 WL 4040374, 2012 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 250 (Ala. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

THOMPSON, Presiding Judge.

This is the second time these parties have been before this court. In the previous opinion, this court explained the procedural history of the litigation as follows:

“Paul Murphy 'Brantley appealed] from the judgment of the Shelby Circuit Court in favor of Prudential Relocation, Inc. (‘Prudential’), for whom Gerald P. Scrushy and Kimberly B. Scrushy [were] substituted on appeal.1 Brantley also appealed] from a separate judgment of the trial court entered in favor of Carl 0. Meeks and Patricia Meeks in the same litigation. This court consolidated the appeals, and, for the reasons set forth herein, we dismiss them.
“Generally, when resolving an appeal involving multiple parcels of real property, it is somewhat difficult to describe the relative locations of the various parcels of property at issue. For purposes of these appeals, we will simplify the present matter by stating that the ap[569]*569peals involve two parcels of property, an easement, and a road. Parcel A lies to the north of parcel B. Parcel B is bordered on the south by a county highway. A 60-foot easement connects Parcel A to the highway. The easement runs the length of parcel B along its western boundary.
“Brantley’s predecessors in interest owned parcel A and parcel B. Those predecessors conveyed parcel B to Guy Burns, Sr., and Guy Burns, Jr., reserving to themselves a 20-foot easement across parcel B to access the highway. The location of the easement was not defined.
“In February 1982, the Burnses conveyed parcel B to J.C. White and Carol White, subject to the undefined easement. In 1983, the Whites conveyed to Brantley’s predecessors the presently existing 60-foot easement. The deed conveying the easement reads, in part: ‘Grantors grant herein an easement across [parcel B] only for the purpose of gaining access to grantee’s property [ (parcel A) ]. Grantees herein agree to abandon any other means of access to said property heretofore reserved across [parcel B].’
“In 1984, Paul Brantley and one of his family members, Billy Brantley, purchased parcel A. In 1998, they subdivided it into multiple lots. At some point, Brantley built a 10-foot-wide asphalt driveway through the easement from parcel A to the county highway.
“In January 2006, the Whites conveyed parcel B to Maverick Enterprises, LLC (‘Maverick’). In April 2006, Maverick conveyed a portion of parcel B to Ronald Walker and Katherine Walker. Thereafter, Maverick began constructing a house for the Walkers on their lot. Maverick subdivided the portion of parcel B that it continued to own. In May
2006, Maverick sold two of the newly divided portions of parcel B to Carl Dewayne Meeks and Sandra Meeks and two other newly divided portions of parcel B to Carl O. Meeks and Patricia Meeks.
“On January 22, 2007, the Walkers filed an action against Brantley. They alleged that in November 2006 Brantley entered their property and cut down three large trees located on the easement, despite the fact that the trees did not impair his access to his property.
“Brantley filed an answer and a counterclaim. In the counterclaim, Brantley added Maverick and Kenneth Carter, Maverick’s managing member, as counterclaim defendants. Brantley alleged that, in retaliation for Brantley’s cutting down the three trees located in the easement, Carter shot several holes in Brantley’s water line, destroying it. On March 30, 2007, the Walkers filed a motion to dismiss Brantley’s counterclaim, arguing that Brantley’s counterclaim did not seek relief against them.
“On June 21, 2007, Brantley filed an amendment to his answer and his counterclaim. In it, he alleged that Carter had begun subdividing parcel B. Brant-ley asserted that he and his attorney had notified Carter of his objection to Carter’s planned use of the driveway on the easement and to Carter’s advertising to others a right to use that driveway. Brantley alleged that he had been harassed and intimidated by the Walkers, Carter, and Maverick and that they had damaged and destroyed portions of the driveway Brantley had constructed.
“On June 26, 2007, the parties filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice as to all the claims between the Walkers and Brantley, and they requested that the remaining parties be realigned to show Brantley as the plaintiff and Car[570]*570ter and Maverick as defendants. On August 5, 2007, the trial court entered an order dismissing with prejudice the claims between the Walkers and Brant-ley and realigning the remaining parties as they had requested.
“On November 13, 2007, the Walkers sold their property to Prudential.
“On August 27, 2009, Brantley filed an amended complaint in which he added Carl O. Meeks, Patricia Meeks, and Prudential as defendants. He alleged that the driveway he had constructed through the easement was a ‘private road,’ that he had maintained the easement for more than 20 years, that he had posted ‘no trespassing’ signs on the road on the easement, and that he had placed a locked gate across the road on the easement. He asserted that he had a ‘prescriptive right’ to the easement and the road across it. Brantley alleged that the Meekses were trying to sell their property and that they had been advising others that the road on the easement was available to access their property. Brantley alleged that Carl O. Meeks had removed and damaged Brantley’s signs indicating that the road in the easement was private. Brantley asserted the allegations in his previous amended counterclaim regarding Carter and Maverick. He alleged that Carter, Maverick, and Carl O. Meeks had harassed and intimidated him and that they had damaged and destroyed portions of the road on the easement. He sought a declaration that the road on the easement was a ‘private road’ and that the 60-foot easement was ‘an exclusive easement of Plaintiff Paul Brantley for the Brantley Family Subdivision.’ He also sought an award of damages against Carter, Maverick, and the Meekses.
“On September 28, 2009, Carl O. Meeks filed a separate action against Brantley. That action was assigned case number CV-09-900726. In his complaint, Meeks sought a declaratory judgment defining the easement as permissive in nature, defining it as solely for ingress and egress, prohibiting Brantley from asserting exclusive control over the easement, and ordering Brantley to cease and desist from harassing Meeks and others who used the easement and to remove all of the signage Brantley had placed on the easement. Meeks also sought an order from the court enjoining Brantley from harassing him and others using the easement, from placing signs on the easement without Meeks’s written permission, and from exercising any control over the easement beyond the mere use of the easement for ingress and egress.
“On October 13, 2009, Brantley filed a motion to dismiss Meeks’s action on the basis that Brantley’s action had been pending before Meeks’s action was initiated and should therefore cause Meeks’s action to abate. Alternatively, he argued that Meeks’s action should be consolidated with his action. Meeks filed a response in which he indicated that, at the time he filed his action, he was unaware that Brantley had added him as a party in Brantley’s amended complaint. He agreed that his action should be consolidated with Brantley’s action.

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Bluebook (online)
142 So. 3d 567, 2012 WL 4040374, 2012 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 250, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brantley-v-meeks-alacivapp-2012.