Gillebaard v. BAYVIEW ACRES ASS'N, INC.

263 S.W.3d 342, 2007 WL 4099398
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 15, 2007
Docket01-05-00961-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 263 S.W.3d 342 (Gillebaard v. BAYVIEW ACRES ASS'N, INC.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gillebaard v. BAYVIEW ACRES ASS'N, INC., 263 S.W.3d 342, 2007 WL 4099398 (Tex. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

OPINION

TIM TAFT, Justice.

Appellants, Frans and Diane Gillebaard (“the Gillebaards”), challenge the trial court’s rendition of summary judgment in favor of appellees, Abbott Sprague, Lloyd Thorton, James Flanigan, and Charlie *344 Prioleau (“the Individual Appellees”) and Bayview Acres Association, Inc. (“Bayview Association”); its declaration that the “Amended and Restated Restrictions for Bayview Acres” subdivision were valid and enforceable; and its denial of the Gille-baards’ cross-motion for partial summary judgment. We determine whether the trial court erred in granting appellees’ motions for summary judgment and in denying the Gillebaards’ motion for partial summary judgment because, as argued by the Gillebaards, the procedures for amending deed restrictions under sections 204.005 and 204.006 of the Texas Property Code were not followed. See Tex. PROP. Code Ann. §§ 204.005, 204.006 (Vernon 2007). We reverse the judgment in part, we affirm it in part, and we remand the cause for further proceedings and with instructions.

Background

Bayview Acres is a residential real estate subdivision in Galveston County, Texas. Bayview Acres has had deed restrictions in effect for more than 70 years. In September 1995, the Gillebaards acquired five lots in Bayview Acres that totalled more than six acres. In 1999, a petition was circulated to the property owners in Bayview Acres for the purpose of amending Bayview Acres’ deed restrictions pursuant to chapter 201 of the Texas Property Code. 2 The 1999 modifications were adopted by the property owners of Bay-view Acres. The deed restrictions affecting the Gillebaards’ property in Bayview Acres at the time that appellees attempted to modify the restrictions (“the 1999 express deed restrictions”) provided, in relevant part:

1. No garage or outbuilding shall be erected on said property to be permanently used as a residence, and in no case shall a garage be used as a residence to exceed twelve (12) months from the beginning of the erection of said garage.
2. No residence or outbuilding shall be left unpainted.
3. No yard toilet shall be erected on said property, and the Grantees specifically agree to construct a cesspool or install septic tank or a similar contrivance for sewage disposal, to which toilet shall be connected.
4. Property conveyed in BAYVIEW ACRES during the period of time that the restrictions herein set forth are in effect, shall be used only for residence purposes [hereinafter referred to as the “residential-use restriction”].
5. The extended or new (if the restrictions have lapsed for any reason) restrictions will be effective for a term of 10 years from January 1, 2000, after which period the restric *345 tions will be automatically extended for successive periods of 10 years, unless within one year prior to any such automatic renewal date, 75 percent of the then property owners of Bayview Acres file a petition declaring that the automatic extension shall not occur.

The only exception to the residential-use restriction was granted to the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club in 1937. 3

In July 2004, the Gillebaards contracted with South Texas Projects, Inc. (“the Condominium Developer”) to sell their property. The contract specifically provided that the Gillebaards’ property was being acquired for the construction of a residential condominium development. The Gille-baards agreed that the Condominium Developer could conduct a “feasibility study” to determine whether the Gillebaards’ property could be developed for its intended purpose.

On August 20, 2004, the Individual Ap-pellees filed written notice of the formation of a property owners’ association petition committee. See Tex. Pkop.Code Ann. §§ 201.005(a), 204.006(a)(1) (Vernon 2007). The August 20 formation-of-a-petition-committee notice stated that a petition committee “was formed for the sole purpose of creating and operating a property owners’ association as set forth in Article II of the proposed Amended and Restated Restrictions for Bayview Acres.” The August 20 formation-of-a-petition-committee notice attached and incorporated by reference the Amended and Restated Restrictions for Bayview Acres (“the Amended and Restated Restrictions”), which sought

... to add to and [to] modify the [1999 express deed] restrictions for Bayview Acres in the following order: (i) first by adding provisions to the restrictions for the purpose of creating and operating the Association so that the Association is a designated representative of the owners of property within Bayview Acres subdivision, as authorized by Texas Property Code Section 204.006; and then (ii) adding to, modifying and restating the restrictions for Bayview Acres as set forth [in the document].

Specifically, the Amended and Restated Restrictions, in pertinent part, modified the residential-use restriction to require that all property in Bayview Acres be used for single-family residential purposes (“the single-family-use restriction”). Also on August 20, 2004, the articles of incorporation for Bayview Acres Association, Inc. (“Bayview Association”) were filed with the Texas Secretary of State.

The petition committee circulated the Amended and Restated Restrictions as a petition to Bayview Acres property owners (“the petition”). On August 23, 2004, 4 three days after the August 20 formation-of-a-petition-committee notice was filed, the petition committee filed the Amended *346 and Restated Restrictions, which had been approved by more than 75 percent of the property owners in Bayview Acres. See id. §§ 204.005(a), 204.006(a). On September 27, 2004, the Gillebaards filed a “Statement of Exclusion from Amended and Restated Restrictions for Bayview Acres” pursuant to section 201.009 of the Texas Property Code to have their property “deleted and excluded from Amended And Restated Restrictions for Bayview Acres.” See id. § 201.009(b)(4) (Vernon 2007).

On September 27, 2004, the Gillebaards filed suit against the Individual Appellees and Bayview Association, seeking declaratory judgment that (1) the Amended and Restated Restrictions were invalid or unenforceable because appellees had not complied with the requirements of chapter 204 of the Texas Property Code; (2) alternatively, the Amended and Restated Restrictions did not apply to the Gillebaards’ property because they had opted out under chapter 201 of the Texas Property Code; and (3) alternatively still, the Amended and Restated Restrictions were invalid or unenforceable because of the changed character of Bayview Acres. The Gillebaards also sought a declaration that the title “to their property is not encumbered by any cloud evidenced or created by” the Amended and Restated Restrictions. The Gillebaards also asserted against the Individual Appellees a claim for tortious interference with their contractual relationship with the Condominium Developer.

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263 S.W.3d 342, 2007 WL 4099398, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gillebaard-v-bayview-acres-assn-inc-texapp-2007.