Fournier v. Elliott

2009 ME 25, 966 A.2d 410, 2009 Me. LEXIS 22
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedMarch 10, 2009
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 2009 ME 25 (Fournier v. Elliott) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fournier v. Elliott, 2009 ME 25, 966 A.2d 410, 2009 Me. LEXIS 22 (Me. 2009).

Opinion

LEVY, J.

[¶ 1] Glen A. and Lisa Fournier appeal from a summary judgment entered in the District Court (Augusta, J.D.Kennedy, J.) denying their claim of title to a portion of the subdivision roads abutting their property. The Fourniers contend that the court erred by concluding that 33 M.R.S. § 460 (2008) does not grant them title to the centerline of the abutting roads. Because we agree, we vacate the judgment and remand for entry of judgment in favor of the Fourniers.

I. BACKGROUND

[¶2] This case involves a title dispute over two roads, Lakeland Drive and Johnson Way, which abut a parcel of property in the Lakeland Shores Subdivision in West Gardiner. Lakeland Shores Subdivision was created in 1994 by Lakeland Associates Partnership (Lakeland), which recorded the subdivision plan in the Ken-nebec County Registry of Deeds in June 1994. Glen and Lisa Fournier purchased two lots in the subdivision, Lots 3 and 3A, from Lakeland in April 1996. Lot 3 is a triangular-shaped piece of land that is abutted on two sides by Lakeland Drive and Johnson Way. The other side of Lot 3 abuts Lot 2, not relevant here. Lot 3A is located across and separated from Lot 3 by Johnson Way.

[¶ 3] In the Fourniers’ deed, Lakeland did not reserve title to Lakeland Drive or Johnson Way. The record does not establish whether Lakeland Drive and Johnson Way were constructed when the Fourniers purchased their property. Both roads are presently constructed and in use, although neither has been accepted by the Town of West Gardiner.

[¶ 4] In November 2000, Lakeland transferred all of its interest in the subdivision, including title to Lakeland Drive and Johnson Way to the extent Lakeland still held that title, to Charles Elliott III and Bernadette Elliott.1 Lakeland subsequently dissolved. In September 2003, the Elliotts conveyed Lots 1 and 1A to their son, Charles Elliott IV.

[412]*412[¶ 5] On April 10, 2007, the Fourniers filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against the Elliotts seeking to establish their title to the centerline of the portions of Lakeland Drive and Johnson Way that abut the Fournier’s property. The Four-niers claimed that they held title to the centerline of both roads pursuant to 33 M.R.S. §§ 460, 465 (2008). The Elliotts filed an answer and counterclaim for declaratory judgment, alleging that they held title to the roads pursuant to 23 M.R.S. § 3031 (2008).

[¶ 6] The Fourniers moved for summary judgment and argued that, pursuant to section 465,2 they were deemed to hold title to the centerline of the roads abutting their property because Lakeland failed to reserve title to the roads under any of the listed exceptions in the statute. The Four-niers argued that the only applicable exception by which Lakeland could have reserved title was section 460,3 because the other exceptions listed in section 465 pertain to conveyances before October 3,1973, or affect state and municipal roads that are not relevant to this case. The Fourni-ers asserted that because Lakeland made no reservation of title under section 460, they held title to the centerlines of the roads, subject only to certain public and private rights under section 3031.

[¶ 7] The Elliotts responded that section 30314 governs title to proposed, unac[413]*413cepted ways within a subdivision. The Elliotts asserted that, pursuant to section 3031(2), the only method by which a landowner in a subdivision may gain title to abutting roads is through the termination of private rights of way, which may be terminated only if a “proposed, unaccepted way” is not constructed within twenty years. Because both Lakeland Drive and Johnson Way had been constructed, the Elliotts argued that the private rights of way created by section 3031 would never terminate and therefore title to the roads could not pass to the Fourniers.

[¶ 8] The court granted summary judgment in favor of the Elliotts and concluded that Charles and Bernadette Elliott held title to both Lakeland Drive and Johnson Way. The court found section 460 inapplicable to the Fourniers’ claims for two reasons. First, the court determined that section 460(1) applied only to “proposed, unaccepted ways,” and, because Lakeland Drive and Johnson Way had been built, concluded they were no longer “proposed, unaccepted ways” for the purposes of section 460(1). Second, the court found that section 460(2) was inapplicable because that section deals with preserving easements and neither party had claimed title under section 460(2).

[¶ 9] Turning to section 3031, the court found it inapplicable to both the Fourniers’ and the Elliotts’ claims. On one hand, the court found that it “would be stretching” the language of section 3031(2) to conclude, as the Elliotts urged, that an owner in a subdivision may obtain title to abutting roads only by waiting twenty years for the private rights of way to expire. On the other hand, the court found that Lake-land’s failure to reserve title under section 3031(4), which states that an owner of a subdivision who intends to reserve title to subdivision roads must place a statement of that intent in all conveyances, did not automatically give title to the Fourniers.

[¶ 10] Finding that the Fourniers had no definitive rights based in either sections 460 or 3031, the court determined that the Fourniers’ claims depended on the statutory presumption in section 465. The court, however, relying on our decision in Watts v. Watts, 2003 ME 36, 818 A.2d 1031, determined that section 465 does not apply to subdivision roads. Specifically, the court found that although section 465 codified the “common law presumption that landowners own to the centerline of abutting [roads],” the presumption does not apply to conveyances by reference to a subdivision plan. Having determined that section 465 by itself does not apply to conveyances within a subdivision, and because neither sections 460 nor 3031 provide the Fourniers an independent basis for claiming title to the centerline of Lake-land Drive and Johnson Way, the court concluded that the Fourniers’ claim failed as a matter of law and that the Elliotts held title to the roads. The Fourniers subsequently appealed.

II. DISCUSSION

[¶ 11] We review a summary judgment de novo, viewing the evidence “in the light most favorable to the party against whom judgment has been entered.” Stanley v. Hancock County Comm’rs, 2004 ME 157, ¶ 13, 864 A.2d 169, 174 (quotation marks omitted). When construing a statute, “we look first to the plain meaning of the statute, and second, if there is any ambiguity, to extrinsic sources, such as legislative history.” City [414]*414of Bangor v. Penobscot County, 2005 ME 35, ¶ 9, 868 A.2d 177, 180.

[¶ 12] On appeal, the Fourniers argue that the court erred by concluding that section 460 was inapplicable and that their claim of title to Lakeland Drive and Johnson Way rested solely on the statutory presumption found in section 465. The Fourniers contend that Lakeland Drive and Johnson Way are “proposed, unaccepted ways” for purposes of section 460, and that section 465 is inapplicable because, by its terms, it applies only to public ways.5

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2009 ME 25, 966 A.2d 410, 2009 Me. LEXIS 22, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fournier-v-elliott-me-2009.