Grandview Lot Owners Ass'n, Inc. v. Harmon

754 N.E.2d 554, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 1428, 2001 WL 925721
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 16, 2001
Docket03A01-0010-CV-336
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 754 N.E.2d 554 (Grandview Lot Owners Ass'n, Inc. v. Harmon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Grandview Lot Owners Ass'n, Inc. v. Harmon, 754 N.E.2d 554, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 1428, 2001 WL 925721 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION

FRIEDLANDER, Judge.

Grandview Lot Owners Association, Inc. (GLOA) is an association of landowners whose property fronts Grandview Lake, a private lake in Bartholomew County, Indiana. Thomas and Mary Harmon purchased property near the lake and expressed a desire to use the lake for recreational purposes. When GLOA opposed the Harmons, the Harmons filed a lawsuit against GLOA, seeking a declaratory judgment granting them access to the lake. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. The trial court granted the Harmons' motion and denied GLOA's motion. GLOA appeals those rulings. 1

We reverse and remand.

The relevant facts in this case are not in dispute and are as follows. The Grand-view Development Company created the Plat (the Plat) of the Town of Grandview Lake (the Town), and the Commissioners of Bartholomew County approved the Plat in 1958. Paragraph 15 of the Plat provided that the lake was to be used only by "lot owners", Record at 137, and their guests. Paragraph 15 of the First through Fifth additions to the Town and Paragraph 13 of the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Additions to the Town set forth the same restriction. Paragraph 19 of the Plat dedicated the lake to "the use of lot owners fronting on or adjacent to said Lake [and] to their guests." Record at 137. In 1957, the Grandview Development Company created, and the Commissioners of Bartholomew County approved, the Fifth Addition to the Town. The plat thereby created included nine lots and a parcel of land that was designated "Block A", and which is at the center of the instant controversy. The nine lots fronted Grandview Lake. Block A consisted of a 8.83-acre parcel of land that was located across a road (Pond Road) that ran behind (that is, on the side opposite of the lake) the nine lots in the Fifth Addition. Block A was conveyed from one owner to another until it was purchased by Dr. Robert Morgan in June 1995.

The Harmons owned lot 885, which fronted Grandview Lake. By virtue of ownership of lot 335, the Harmons were members of GLOA. On August 8, 1995, the Harmons purchased Block A from Morgan. On June 26, 1997, GLOA's president informed the Harmons that neither they nor their guests would be permitted to use Grandview Woods, Grandview Lake, or the dam and launching ramps servicing the lake. 2 On April 6, 2000, the Harmons subdivided Block A into three separate lots, thereby creating the Harmon Minor *557 Subdivision (the Harmon Subdivision). The three lots in Block A are the only lots in the several plats constituting the Town of Grandview Lake that are not lakefront lots. It is undisputed that, so long as they own lot 335, or any lakefront lot on Grand-view Lake, the Harmons are authorized to access Grandview Lake and its facilities. The question presented here concerns the rights that attach to ownership of the lots in Block A.

The trial court determined that the owners of the lots in Block A have a right to access and use the lake. In support of its determination, the trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law. In the context of a summary judgment ruling, the trial court is neither required to, nor prohibited from, entering findings and conclusions. When it does, the specific findings aid in our review of the ruling, but are not binding upon the reviewing court. City of Gary v. Indiana Bell Telephone Co., Inc., 732 N.E.2d 149 (Ind.2000). When reviewing a summary judgment ruling, we stand in the shoes of the trial court. Id. Summary judgment is appropriate only if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Ind. Trial Rule 56(C); City of Gary v. Indiana Bell Telephone Co., Inc., 732 N.E.2d 149. In conducting our review, we will not reweigh the evidence and will consider the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. City of Gary v. Indiana Bell Telephone Co., Inc., 732 N.E.2d 149.

We must determine the meaning of the restrictive covenants incorporated in the Plat with respect to the permissible use of the lake by owners of the lots in the Harmon Subdivision. Construction of the terms of a written contract is a pure question of law for the court and we conduct a de novo review of the trial court's conclusions in that regard. Harrison v. Thomas, 744 N.E.2d 977 (Ind.Ct.App.2001). If a contract is ambiguous because of the language used in the contract, rather than because of extrinsic facts, its construction is a pure question of law to be determined by the court. Id. One purpose of restrictive covenants is to maintain or enhance the value of land "by controlling the nature and use of lands subject to a covenant's provisions." Campbell v. Spade, 617 N.E.2d 580, 583 (Ind.Ct.App.1993). Restrictive covenants are generally disfavored in the law and will be strictly construed by the courts, which resolve all doubts in favor of the free use of property and against restrictions. Id. Nevertheless, restrictive covenants are a form of express contract recognized under the law. The construction of a written contract containing restrictive covenants is a question of law for which summary judgment is particularly appropriate. Id.

The original covenanters' intent must be determined from the specific language used and the situation as it existed at the time that the covenant was made. Columbia Club, Inc. v. American Fletcher Realty Corp., 720 N.E.2d 411 (Ind.Ct.App.1999); Oakes v. Hattabaugh, 631 N.E.2d 949 (Ind.Ct.App.1994). Specific words and phrases cannot be read exclusive of other contractual provisions. Rather, the parties' intentions when entering into the contract must be determined by reading the contract in its entirety and attempting to construe contractual provisions so as to harmonize the agreement. First Fed. Sav. Bank v. Key Markets, Inc., 559 N.E.2d 600 (Ind.1990).

When lands are granted according to a plat, the plat becomes part of the grant or deed by which the land is conveyed, with respect to the limitations placed upon the land. A duly recorded plat gives notice to all prospective purchasers of the restrictions contained therein. *558 Maxwell v. Hahn, 508 N.E.2d 555 (Ind.Ct.App.1987). Therefore, the question of whether a Block A landowner acquires thereby the right to use the lake must be resolved by examining the written instruments that created the Town in general, and Block A in particular. We begin our analysis there.

The Fifth Addition, of which Block A was a part, was platted on January 5, 1957. The Privileges and Restrictions section of the plat contained the following provisions:

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Bluebook (online)
754 N.E.2d 554, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 1428, 2001 WL 925721, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grandview-lot-owners-assn-inc-v-harmon-indctapp-2001.