City of Memphis v. Tandy J. Gilliland Family LLC

CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedDecember 16, 2015
DocketW2014-02472-COA-R3-CV
StatusPublished

This text of City of Memphis v. Tandy J. Gilliland Family LLC (City of Memphis v. Tandy J. Gilliland Family LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Memphis v. Tandy J. Gilliland Family LLC, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT JACKSON October 28, 2015 Session

CITY OF MEMPHIS, ET AL. v. TANDY J. GILLILAND FAMILY LLC, ET AL.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Shelby County No. CT00043510 James F. Russell, Judge

________________________________

No. W2014-02472-COA-R3-CV – Filed December 16, 2015 _________________________________

This is the second appeal of this eminent domain case. In the first appeal, City of Memphis v. Tandy J. Gilliland Family, LLC, et al., 391 S.W.3d 60 (2012), this Court held that Appellee City of Memphis, a municipal corporation for the use and benefit of Memphis Light, Gas, and Water Division, was entitled to condemn a portion of Appellants’ property to erect poles and other facilities to provide utility services to MLGW customers. In addition to the provision of utility services, Appellee also sought co-location rights to allow telecommunications and cable providers to attach to MLGW’s poles. In the first appeal, Appellants argued that the co-location rights transformed the condemnation from public to private use. In our first opinion, we held that the Pole Attachment Act, 47 U.S.C. § 224, mandated that MLGW would allow co-location rights. On remand, the trial court held that it was bound by the law of the case as set out in our first opinion and denied Appellants discovery concerning the co-location rights before granting those rights to Appellee. In the instant appeal, Appellants contend that our previous holding was incorrect because the Pole Attachment Act specifically exempts MLGW from the definition of “utility.” We agree, and reverse our previous holding to the extent that we held that the Pole Attachment Act is mandatory on MLGW. Because of our erroneous holding, the issues of whether MLGW is entitled to co-location rights and the proper compensation, if any, for these rights have not been addressed in the trial court. Accordingly, we vacate the trial court’s order insofar as it grants Appellee co-location rights and remand the case for discovery and hearing on these issues. We affirm the trial court’s order insofar as it allows Appellee to condemn Appellants’ property for utility purposes.

Tenn. R. App. p. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court is Affirmed in Part, Vacated in Part and Remanded KENNY ARMSTRONG, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ARNOLD B. GOLDIN and BRANDON O. GIBSON, J.J., joined.

Robert A. McLean and Allison Kay Moody, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellants, Tandy Jones Gilliland, Tandy J. Gilliland Family, LLC, and Tandy J. Gilliland and Rudolph Jones, Jr., LLC.

Randall D. Noel, Elizabeth E. Chance, and Diana M. Comes, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, City of Memphis.

OPINION

I. Background

This is the second appeal of this case. In City of Memphis v. Tandy J. Gilliland Family, LLC, et al., 391 S.W.3d 60 (2012) (“Gilliland I”), this Court determined that the Appellee, the City of Memphis, a municipal corporation for the use and benefit of Memphis Light Gas and Water Division (“MLGW”), could condemn an eight foot easement and a fifteen foot clearing easement across property owned by Tandy Jones Gilliland, Tandy J. Gilliland Family, LLC, and Tandy J. Gilliland and Rudolph Jones, Jr., LLC. (collectively, “Appellants”).

The case began on January 28, 2010, when MLGW filed lawsuits against each of the three Appellants seeking to condemn a portion of Appellants’ properties to create easements for its utility poles. Gilliland I, 391 S.W.3d at 62. Approximately one year later, on January 12, 2011, the three lawsuits were consolidated, and MLGW filed an amended petition for condemnation against the Appellants. Id. In addition to seeking condemnation “to construct, maintain, improve or alter its transmission line,” MLGW’s amended petition also sought to allow telecommunications and CATV carriers to attach, operate, and maintain their respective lines on MLGW’s utility poles within the condemned easement areas. Id. at 62- 63; see further discussion infra.

Appellants filed a motion to dismiss MLGW’s amended petition, arguing that the condemnation action exceeded MLGW’s authority and that the amended petition failed to show that the condemnation was necessary for the use and benefit of MLGW. Specifically, Appellants argued that they had previously granted a right-of-way to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (“TDOT”) and that MLGW could locate its poles within

2 TDOT’s right-of-way, thus making it unnecessary for MLGW to acquire a separate easement. Id. at 63.

On July 1, 2011, the trial court entered an order granting Appellants’ motion to dismiss (which had been converted to a motion for summary judgment due to the trial court’s consideration of evidence outside the pleadings, Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.02). Id. at 64. In Gilliland I, MLGW appealed the trial court’s dismissal of its condemnation action, and this Court reversed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Appellants and remanded the case “for entry of judgment in favor of MLGW for condemnation, appropriation, and possession,” and “for assessment of the fair value of the condemned property.” Id. at 73. In so ruling, we explained that

the evidence shows that MLGW had the authority to condemn, and that the taking was for a public purpose. However, the evidence fails to satisfy [Appellants’] heavy burden on the question of whether MLGW’s condemnation was a clear and palpable abuse of power, or was otherwise fraudulent, arbitrary or capricious. In the absence of such a finding, the trial court exceeded its authority in considering the question of necessity and ostensibly enjoining MLGW to relocate its facilities in TDOT’s expanded right-of-way. Because the trial court’s grant of summary judgment was prefaced on its finding concerning necessity of the easement, we must reverse the grant of summary judgment in favor of [Appellants]. The undisputed evidence shows that MLGW had the right to condemn the [Appellants’] property, and that the condemnation was for the public purpose of providing utilities in that area. The evidence does not show that MLGW’s motive in this taking was fraudulent, or that it was arbitrary or capricious. In the absence of this showing, the court has fulfilled its role and the taking should be allowed.

Gilliland I, 391 S.W.3d at 73. This portion of our analysis in Gilliland I is not disputed in the instant appeal. However, as part of their argument in the Gilliland I appeal, Appellants asserted that the portion of MLGW’s amended petition that involved co-location rights transformed the public use of the easement (for electrical service) into a private one. Because the co-location rights were raised in the first appeal as one of Appellants’ arguments, we addressed the issue in Gilliland I and held that the Federal Pole Attachment Act, 47 U.S.C. §224 (“Pole Act”), mandated that MLGW grant co-location rights to telecommunication and CATV carriers. Whether this ruling was correct is an issue before us in the instant appeal, and we will address this question below. Having held in Gilliland I that MLGW had the right to condemn Appellants’ property, we remanded the case “for entry of judgment in favor of MLGW for condemnation . . . and for assessment of the fair value of the condemned property.” Id. at 73.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Arizona v. California
460 U.S. 605 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Joshua Cooper v. Logistics Insight Corp. - Dissent
395 S.W.3d 632 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2013)
Webb v. Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity, Inc.
346 S.W.3d 422 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2011)
Jordan v. Knox County
213 S.W.3d 751 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2007)
In Re Estate of McFarland
167 S.W.3d 299 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2005)
Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hospital
984 S.W.2d 593 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1999)
Alcazar v. Hayes
982 S.W.2d 845 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1998)
State v. Kendricks
891 S.W.2d 597 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1994)
Barnes v. Walker
234 S.W.2d 648 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1950)
Monday v. Millsaps
271 S.W.2d 857 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1954)
Davis v. Davis
657 S.W.2d 753 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1983)
Nashville Housing Authority v. Cohen
541 S.W.2d 947 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1976)
Love v. Smith
566 S.W.2d 876 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1978)
Montgomery v. Stephan
101 N.W.2d 227 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1960)
Ladd Ex Rel. Ladd v. Honda Motor Co.
939 S.W.2d 83 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 1996)
City of Memphis v. Overton
392 S.W.2d 98 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1965)
Jolyn Cullum v. Jan McCool
432 S.W.3d 829 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
City of Memphis v. Tandy J. Gilliland Family LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-memphis-v-tandy-j-gilliland-family-llc-tennctapp-2015.