Cathcart v. Magruder

960 So. 2d 1032, 2007 WL 1299447
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 4, 2007
Docket2006 CA 0986, 2006 CA 0987, 2006 CA 0988
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 960 So. 2d 1032 (Cathcart v. Magruder) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cathcart v. Magruder, 960 So. 2d 1032, 2007 WL 1299447 (La. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

960 So.2d 1032 (2007)

Aaron R. CATHCART and Betty Leboeuf Cathcart
v.
James N. MAGRUDER, et al.
Aaron R. Cathcart and Betty Leboeuf Cathcart
v.
James N. Magruder, Chip McVea and Ed Branch
James Ricky Magee and Playground, L.L.C.
v.
Aaron R. Cathcart.

Nos. 2006 CA 0986, 2006 CA 0987, 2006 CA 0988.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

May 4, 2007.

*1033 Michael D. Conroy, Covington, Counsel for Plaintiffs/Appellants Aaron R. Cathcart and Betty LeBoeuf Cathcart.

William J. Crane, Covington, Counsel for Defendants/Appellees James Rickey Magee, Cathy Madere Magee, Chip McVea, Ed Branch, James N. Magruder, and Playground, L.L.C.

Before: KUHN, GAIDRY, and WELCH, JJ.

GAIDRY, J.

This appeal arises from a judgment rendered in three consolidated civil actions relating to the interpretation and enforcement of building restrictions and conventional servitudes. Aaron R. Cathcart and Betty LeBoeuf Cathcart, plaintiffs in two of the actions and defendants in the third, appeal the judgment. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On May 28, 1999, Circle T, Ltd. (Circle T), a Mississippi corporation, acquired a tract of rural land in Washington Parish from Green Land Limited Partnership. This original tract, subsequently known as "MaKinley Cove," had an area of 411.93 acres, including a portion of Lake MaKinley and all of two smaller lakes.[1] On July 18, 2000, Circle T sold a portion of its *1034 property, encompassing 20.648 acres in area, to James and Cathy Magee (the Magees).[2] The act of sale also established a "non-exclusive servitude and right of ingress and egress for passage . . . in favor of the [Magee property] and subsequent parcels conveyed." This first servitude of passage is served by an existing gravel road that extends westward from Louisiana Highway 25, which forms the eastern boundary of the original tract, to and across a narrow portion of Lake MaKinley, with a newer section extending southward towards the Magee property and forming part of the southwest boundary of that property.

Although only the Magees appear as owners of record in the act of sale to them, Mr. Magee acknowledged in his trial testimony that they acquired the property on their own behalf and that of Chip McVea and Ed Branch, whom he acknowledged were co-owners. At some point after the Magees acquired their tract of approximately 20 acres, they sold a five-acre parcel to Barry Kennedy and another five-acre parcel to Randy Magee, leaving them and their co-owners, McVea and Branch, slightly over ten acres owned in indivision.

On August 11, 2000, Circle T and the Magees executed an instrument entitled "Restrictive Covenants for MaKinley Cove and Adjacent Property Parcels [etc.]," establishing building restrictions for MaKinley Cove. Those provisions relevant to this litigation provide as follows:

In order to assist in the safe and reasonable use of the land and lake and for the benefit of owners, family and future owners of parcels that may be adjacent to MaKinley Cove[,] the appearers do hereby establish restrictive covenants and do encumber the parcels owned by them by subjecting them to the following restrictions and covenants to-wit:
1. All lots and acreage are hereby designated as recreational, residential and non-commercial lots and are restricted to such purposes only. No building, trailer or structure shall be erected, altered, placed, permitted or allowed to remain on any such property except in connection with the above permitted uses.
. . . .
3. No lot or parcel shall be divided into smaller parcels of less than five (5.0) acres.
. . . .
5. Parcels adjacent to the lake and the lake are designated for private use (owners and family). No guest is allowed unless accompanied by an owner, whether on the lake, hunting or on the premises. Any individual not accompanied is a trespasser subject to penalties.

A second servitude of passage (the "boat launch" servitude) was created on October 10, 2000. The second servitude of passage extends from the intersection of the original gravel road and the first servitude's newer section westward to a boat launch on the Bogue Chitto River, which forms the western boundary of the original tract.

On the same day that the "boat launch" servitude was created, October 10, 2000, Circle T sold a triangular parcel of its MaKinley Cove property to the Cathcarts. The Cathcarts' property encompasses 5.32 acres, with the first servitude of passage crossing the property, parallel with its northern boundary. The act of sale expressly provided that the property was subject to both the first and second servitudes of passage, as well as the building *1035 restrictions established by Circle T and the Magees. At the time the Cathcarts acquired their property, a locked gate regulated access to the servitude's gravel road at Louisiana Highway 25. Property owners in MaKinley Cove were provided keys to the gate.

On October 11, 2000, James Magruder, Dennis Crowe, Virgil Magruder, and Richard Knight, with their respective spouses, jointly purchased a twenty-acre tract from Circle T. On November 30, 2000, through an instrument entitled "Private Act of Capital Contribution," those purchasers transferred ownership of the tract to a limited liability company, Playground, L.L.C. The evidence at trial showed that Playground, L.L.C. had five members: James Magruder, Dennis Crowe, Virgil Magruder, Richard Knight, and a later-added member, Bill Durdin.

In August 2001, Circle T removed the gate across the gravel road at Louisiana Highway 25. Differences and confrontations developed between the property owners and other individuals using the gravel road to access the tracts in MaKinley Cove. The disputes centered on the issues of whether guests were required to be physically accompanied by property owners while using the gravel road and the meaning and identity of "owners" as used in the building restrictions.

The First Suit

On August 7, 2003, the Cathcarts filed a petition for damages and injunctive relief against James Magruder, Tammy Magee Magruder, and the Magees, alleging that those defendants continually violated paragraphs 1, 3, and 5 of the MaKinley Cove building restrictions "by allowing guests to visit their property unaccompanied by an escort and by subdividing their property." The Magees filed an answer in the form of a general denial of the petition's allegations. The Magruders excepted to the petition on the grounds that it failed to state a cause of action or right of action against them, as they individually were not owners of property in MaKinley Cove.

On January 26, 2004, the Cathcarts filed a supplemental and amending petition, deleting Ms. Magruder as a defendant, adding Playground, L.L.C. as a defendant, and alleging Mr. Magruder's status as a member of Playground, L.L.C. in violating the building restrictions. The Cathcarts also supplemented their description of Mr. Magruder's violations, alleging that he "invited unescorted individuals to use the servitude in favor of Playground, L.L.C., specifically violating the restrictive covenants of MaKinley Cove" and that the defendants' invitees "regularly drove down the unpaved servitude in front of the plaintiffs['] home at excessive speeds[,] endangering the plaintiffs and their invitees and causing damage to the fragile health of Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
960 So. 2d 1032, 2007 WL 1299447, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cathcart-v-magruder-lactapp-2007.