Claitor v. Brooks

137 So. 3d 638, 2013 La.App. 1 Cir. 0178, 2013 WL 7121302, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2889
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided December 27, 2013·No. No. 2013 CA 0178·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

CRAIN, J.

Ijn this suit to declare a predial servitude of passage extinguished by prescription of nonuse, the plaintiff appeals from a [640] summary judgment granted in favor of the defendant dismissing the claims with prejudice. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The servitude at issue burdens property owned by R.G. Claitor’s Realty in the northeast quadrant of the intersection of Perkins Road and South Acadian Thruway in Baton Rouge. The dominant estate is owned by the defendant, Laurance W. Brooks, Jr., and is located at the corner of the intersection, fronting on both roadways to the south and west and surrounded on the east and north by the Claitor property. The Brooks parcel was carved out of the larger tract in 1968, when the original owners, Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Claitor, Sr., agreed to sell it to Brooks. The transfer was accomplished through an act of exchange with another party on October 16, 1968, who then conveyed ownership of the parcel to Brooks on October 28, 1968.1

In the act of exchange, the Claitors provided that they “do hereby establish and create in favor of the [Brooks parcel] a servitude of passage for, and use by, vehicles of all descriptions, animals' and pedestrians, over and across the following described property....” The boundaries of the servitude are described in detail by a metes and bounds description and an attached plat, which is reproduced below and depicts the servitude in the shaded area.

[641] [[Image here]]

As illustrated, the servitude is somewhat T-shaped and extends north from Perkins Road approximately 242 feet at a width of 25 feet, and then west to South Acadian Thruway at a width of 30 feet, together with a short length to the east. The Brooks parcel is identified as “TRACT ‘A’l,” and all other property to the north (above) and east (right) shown on the plat is owned by Claitor’s Realty and is used as access and parking for businesses on other parts of the property not shown on the plat. The servitude is further described as “permanent ... in the nature of a cove[642] nant running with the land, [and] is for the benefit of said Tract ‘A-l’.... ”

According to his affidavit, Mr. Claitor granted the servitude with the' [/‘understanding and intent” that it would be used as a drive-through lane for a proposed fast-food restaurant on the Brooks parcel However, Brooks leased the parcel in 1969 to ExxonMobile Corporation, who built and opened a gasoline service station at the location in 1970. During the construction, Exxon used fill dirt to raise the level of the parcel several feet above the servitude and other adjacent property. A set of steps was constructed on the east side of the parcel leading to the servitude to enable pedestrians to walk to and from the service station across the servitude. The servitude was not necessary for vehicular traffic to access the service station because the parcel contained two driveways directly connecting to Perkins Road and Acadian Thruway. The service station was demolished in 2001, and the property remained vacant through at least 2010.

In 2011, Mr. Claitor filed suit against Brooks and alleged that the servitude was extinguished by prescription of nonuse for ten years pursuant to Louisiana Civil Code article 753.2 Brooks filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that the servitude was valid and enforceable and that the petition should be dismissed with prejudice. The motion was supported by affidavits and other evidence that indicated repeated use of the servitude by pedestrians to access the Brooks parcel, including Brooks’ sworn statement that he personally used the servitude to access the parcel on a weekly basis or, at the very least, several times a year since he acquired the property in 1968. Brooks also attested that a surveyor, realtor, two appraisers, and a representative of a potential tenant used the servitude in his presence to access the property. An attorney, Daniel D. Holliday, III, attested that on multiple occasions in 2002, 2008, and 2004, he used the servitude to access the property in connection with his representation of Brooks in litigation against Exxon; and a groundskeeper confirmed by affidavit that he parked his truck on the servitude to unload and operate equipment that he used to maintain the [^Brooks property on at least two occasions in 2010. Finally, a manager of the service station from 1992 through 1997 attested that he observed patrons and employees of the station often use the concrete steps leading down to the servitude to access Perkins Road and other businesses located nearby.

Claitor’s Realty opposed the motion with Mr. Claitor’s affidavit wherein he stated that he agreed to grant the servitude for the purpose of the drive-through lane. According to Mr. Claitor, it was his “understanding and intent that the [servitude was going to be used as a drive-through lane at a proposed McDonald’s restaurant.” However, after Brooks acquired the property, a gasoline service station was constructed on it, and the elevation of the tract and placement of concrete retaining walls during that construction made it physically impossible for any vehicle to travel from the servitude onto the Brooks parcel. To his personal knowledge, no vehicle had ever done so. He further confirmed that the pedestrian and vehicular access to the tract is provided by driveways on the Brooks parcel leading to Perkins Road and Acadian Thruway and that the servitude was never needed for pedestrians to access the service station. The [643] servitude is not marked by any signs, and Brooks never sought permission, nor was any granted, for Brooks or his tenants or invitees to use the parking lot on the Claitor property.

Claitor’s Realty also introduced excerpts of Brooks’ deposition wherein he acknowledged that there was never an entryway for vehicular traffic from the servitude onto the Brooks parcel. Brooks also knew of only one instance of a vehicle accessing the property from the servitude, which occurred in 2010 when he drove his vehicle onto the property. A video of that event showed Brooks’ vehicle attempting to climb a side hill of the parcel but apparently unable to crest the hill. Both parties also offered numerous photographs depicting the property over the course of several years.

IfiThe trial court granted the summary judgment in favor of Brooks and adopted his supporting memorandum as reasons. A judgment was entered dismissing the claims with prejudice, and Claitor’s Realty appealed assigning as error the- trial court’s finding that there were no material issues of fact that prevented the granting of the motion for summary judgment.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

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Claitor v. Brooks, 137 So. 3d 638, 2013 La.App. 1 Cir. 0178, 2013 WL 7121302, 2013 La. App. LEXIS 2889 (La. Ct. App. 2013).

137 So. 3d 638 (Claitor v. Brooks) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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