Coffman v. James

177 So. 2d 25
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJune 15, 1965
DocketF-408
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 177 So. 2d 25 (Coffman v. James) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coffman v. James, 177 So. 2d 25 (Fla. Ct. App. 1965).

Opinion

177 So.2d 25 (1965)

Mauriece COFFMAN and Shirley V. Coffman, husband and wife, et al., Appellants,
v.
Eugene N. JAMES and Dorothy M. James, husband and wife, Appellees.

No. F-408.

District Court of Appeal of Florida. First District.

June 15, 1965.
Rehearing Denied August 6, 1965.

*26 Allen W. Lindsay, Sr., and Earl L. Lewis, Milton, for appellants.

J. Paul Fitzgerald, Milton, for appellees.

STURGIS, Chief Judge.

Appellants, plaintiffs below, brought this suit against the owners of a parcel of land alleged to be a part of Highand Park Subdivision in Santa Rosa County, Florida, to enjoin the constructing thereon of a multiple unit apartment house in violation of restrictive covenants alleged to run with the land.

In answer to the complaint defendants admitted that restrictive covenants were imposed on the land in said subdivision, providing in pertinent part: 1) That no lot shall be used except for residential purposes. 2) That "no building shall be erected, altered, placed or permitted to remain on any lot other than one detached single-family dwelling * * *." Defendants affirmatively alleged, however, that the unnumbered parcel in dispute whereon they were in process of erecting an apartment house containing multiple-family units was not a part of said subdivision and therefore is not subject to said restrictive covenants; further, that it was never their purpose to include said parcel in said subdivision or to impose said restrictive covenants against the same; that on the contrary, it was always their intention to use said parcel for business purposes and that they had so used it with plaintiffs' knowledge at all times since September 1955; that they had expended in excess of $11,000 in constructing said apartment house thereon and, in effect, that the plaintiffs, by having acquiesced in defendants' use of said parcel as commercial property, were estopped to complain of the alleged violation of the restrictive covenant.

In denying motion of defendants for summary decree, the chancellor pertinently stated that the affidavits in support thereof were "not sufficient to overcome the mandate of the statute under which the subdivision plat was prepared, certified, filed, approved and offered to the real estate market." Pursuant *27 to a pretrial conference an order was entered whereby the parties admitted:

1. That the parcel designated "A" on the plat of said subdivision is not a part thereof. [We pause to note that this parcel, which is church property, is not involved by the issues developed in this cause, and its status, therefore, has no bearing on the result.]

2. (a) That on November 7, 1958, defendants conveyed Lot 6, Block 4, of said subdivision to James G. Blair, Jr., et ux, who on December 19, 1961, conveyed the same to the present owners, plaintiffs Mauriece Coffman et ux.

(b) That on May 12, 1957, defendants conveyed Lot 1, Block 4, of said subdivision to J.D. Hembree et ux, who on November 5, 1957, conveyed the same to the present owners, plaintiffs Cary A. McArthur et ux.

(c) That on March 11, 1957, defendants conveyed Lot 4, Block 4, of said subdivision to J.D. Hembree et ux, who on June 18, 1957, conveyed the same to the present owners, plaintiffs Edwin Maurice Shelly et ux.

(d) That on March 11, 1957, defendants conveyed Lot 3 of Block 4 of said subdivision to J.D. Hembree et ux, who on July 12, 1957, conveyed to the present owners, plaintiffs Calvin M. McGowin et ux.

(e) That on April 21, 1958, defendants conveyed Lot 5, Block 4, of said subdivision to Joseph O. Fancher et ux, who on July 26, 1960, conveyed to Thomas J. Champagne et ux, who on February 27, 1963, conveyed to Monsanto Chemical Company, who on July 3, 1963, conveyed to the present owners, plaintiffs Jerry K. Broxson et ux.

The pretrial order entered in evidence by agreement of counsel:

1. Restrictive covenants recorded in Deed Book 125, at page 465, of the public records of Santa Rosa County, as plaintiffs' exhibit 1.

2. Restrictive covenants recorded in Deed Book 131, at page 4, of said public records, as defendants' exhibit 1.

3. The recorded plat of Highland Park Subdivision, as defendants' exhibit 2.

4. Restrictive covenants recorded in Deed Book 126, at page 91, of said public records, as defendants' exhibit 3.

Said order stated the issues for trial as follows:

1. Is the area in question a portion of Highland Park Subdivision, and if so, do the restrictive covenants mentioned above apply to said area?

2. Has defendants' use of the area in question been such as to negate an intent that said area would be subject to said restrictive covenants?

3. If said area is subject to the restrictive covenants, are plaintiffs entitled to injunctive relief or left to actions at law for damages?

The order also provided that no formal proof should be required as to the matters specifically admitted or for the admission into evidence of the identified exhibits, but that proof of all other issues would be required at the trial of the cause.

The chancellor heard the evidence and on the basis of the pleadings and proofs entered a final decree holding that the parcel in dispute is not a part of said subdivision and is not, therefore, subject to the alleged restrictive covenants; and on that premise dismissed the suit with prejudice, hence this appeal. We are called on to determine whether or not the proofs and applicable law support said decree which comes to this court clothed with a presumption of correctness. The facts upon which the issues turn are not in material dispute, hence our primary concern is with the applicable law.

We here project a sketch of that part of the recorded plat of Highland Park Subdivision in which lies the land owned by plaintiffs and defendants.

*28

*29 The references thereon to ownership do not appear on the recorded plat. The measurements of the numbered lots in Block 4 are not shown. The NW Corner of "That Portion of NW 1/4 of NE 1/4 of Section 4, T 1 N, R 28 W, Lying North of Lake" is indicated thereon. The foregoing quoted description is that specifically shown by the plat as the property included in the subdivision.

Chapter 177, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., relating to recorded maps and plats, provides in pertinent part:

(a) "177.05 Description written on map or plat. — There shall be written or printed upon the tracing cloth on which map or plat shall be made a full and detailed description of the land embraced in said map or plat showing the township and range in which such lands are situated and the section and parts of sections platted. * * *
(b) "The description must be so complete that from it without reference to the plat, the starting point can be determined and the outlines run."
(c) "177.06 Dedication. — In connection with the description there shall be a dedication of the plat by the owner or owners, and his or their wives, whose signatures must be witnessed, and their execution of the dedication must be acknowledged in the same manner as deeds conveying lands are required to be witnessed and acknowledged; and in all cases the title, caption and dedication must agree."
(d) "177.07 Permanant reference monuments.

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Bluebook (online)
177 So. 2d 25, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coffman-v-james-fladistctapp-1965.