Hvidston v. Eastridge

591 N.E.2d 566, 1992 Ind. App. LEXIS 596, 1992 WL 83853
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 29, 1992
Docket49A04-9009-CV-00421
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 591 N.E.2d 566 (Hvidston v. Eastridge) 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
Hvidston v. Eastridge, 591 N.E.2d 566, 1992 Ind. App. LEXIS 596, 1992 WL 83853 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

STATON, Judge.

Dean and Marjorie Hvidston own an apartment building on East Washington Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. Louis and Ann Eastridge and Charles Pedigo (collectively referred to as "the Eastridges") are the owners of real estate bordering the Hvidstons' property to the west. Tenants occupy the home located on the Eastridges' real estate. The house on the Eastridge property and the Hvidstons' apartment were built when the lots were part of one larger tract. This tract was divided in 1937, when the lots were sold to separate purchasers. In order for the tenants to park their vehicles in the garage at the rear of the property, they must use the gravel driveway located between the house and the apartment building. The boundary line between the two properties roughly bisects the driveway in a north/south direction.

In 1977, Stephen Schaler, the Eastridges' predecessor in interest, sued the Hvidstons to quiet title to the driveway. The trial court in this earlier proceeding recognized a permanent easement of necessity 2 in "'the existing driveway" so as to allow access to the garage and parking area, but also granted the Hvidstons use of the easement for the purpose of providing repairs and maintenance to the apartment building. In describing the easement, the trial court relied chiefly on a survey of the properties *568 conducted in 1974 to determine the dimensions of "the existing driveway."

The Hvidstons filed suit for damages and to rescind the easement in 1985, and the Eastridges counterclaimed for damages. After the Hvidstons failed to respond to the counterclaim, the trial court granted the Eastridges' motion for default judgment. The court also dismissed the Hvid-stons' complaint with prejudice.

In 1987, the Hvidstons again filed suit for damages and to vacate the easement, claiming the Eastridges and their tenants impermissibly expanded their use of the easement beyond the scope of the 1977 decree. The Hvidstons obtained a default judgment in this third lawsuit on November 23, 1987, apparently as a result of inadequate service upon the Eastridges. On March 21, 1988, Dean Hvidston installed posts at the entrance to the driveway, preventing access to the garage. That same day, the Eastridges obtained an emergency order commanding Hvidston to remove the posts. Hvidston complied with the decree but erected fenceposts and drove metal stakes in or near the easement a few months later.

After the Eastridges obtained relief from the default judgment, the Hvidstons filed an amended complaint to vacate the easement, and the Eastridges counterclaimed for damages. After a bench trial, the trial court held that the easement included the area along the property line east of the Eastridges' garage (the "disputed area"), and modified the easement to allow the parties to park their vehicles on the driveway. 3 The court further prohibited the Hvidstons from driving stakes or poles into the ground on the easement or along its boundaries, and gave the Eastridges the exclusive right to grade, maintain and care for the easement. The Hvidstons appeal these determinations, raising the following four issues for our review.

I. Whether the trial court erroneously concluded that the driveway easement included the disputed area.
II. Whether the trial court erroneously modified the decree to permit parking of vehicles on the easement.
III. Whether the trial court erroneously enjoined the Hvidstons from installing stakes or poles along the boundaries of the driveway easement.
IV. Whether the trial court erroneously concluded that the Hvidstons are prohibited from performing any type of maintenance to the driveway easement.

Affirmed in part, reversed and remanded in part.

We note that the trial court entered special findings and conclusions, pursuant to the Eastridges' request. When a party has requested specific findings of fact and conclusions of law under Ind.Trial Rule 52(A), the reviewing court cannot affirm the judgment on any legal basis; rath er, the court must determine whether the trial court's findings are sufficient to support the judgment. Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners v. Rittenhouse (1991), Ind.App., 575 N.E.2d 668, 665, trans. denied. In reviewing the judgment, we must first determine whether the evidence supports the findings and second, whether the findings support the judgment. Id. The judgment will be reversed only when clearly erroneous, i.e., when the judgment is unsupported by the findings of fact and conclusions of law entered on the findings. DeHaan v. DeHaan (1991), Ind.App., 572 N.E.2d 1315, 1320, trans. denied. Findings of fact are clearly erroneous when the record lacks any facts or reasonable inferences to support them. Id. To determine whether the findings or judgment are clearly erroneous, we consider only the evidence favorable to the judgment and all reasonable inferences flowing therefrom, and we will not reweigh the evidence or assess witness credibility,. Id.

I.

The "Disputed Area"

The trial court interpreted the 1977 decree as establishing an easement of ne *569 cessity extending south from Washington Street to a line between the apartment building and the Eastridges' garage (encompassing the "disputed area"). The 1977 decree states in pertinent part:

12. That a survey dated November 11, 1974, by Mid-States Engineering Co., Inc. discloses that a driveway between the Schaler and Hvidston real estate leading to a garage at the rear of the Schaler real estate lies partially within the boundaries of the Hvidstons' real estate.
13. That said driveway is the sole means of access to the garage and parking area at the rear of the Schaler property, and is reasonably necessary for the use and enjoyment of the improvements on the Schaler property.
# * * * * L
15. That Schaler and his predecessors have acquired a permanent easement of necessity in favor of themselves and their successors in title to use that portion of the existing driveway within the boundaries of the Hvidston property for driveway purposes and their title to such easement should be quieted against the claims of Hvidstons and their successors in title.
16. That Hvidstons and their predecessors have acquired a permanent easement of necessity in favor of themselves and their successors in title to use that portion of the existing driveway within the boundaries of the Schaler property for the purpose of making repairs to the improvements on Hvidston's real estate and their title to such easement should be quieted against the claims of Schaler and his successors in title.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the plaintiff, Stephen C.

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Bluebook (online)
591 N.E.2d 566, 1992 Ind. App. LEXIS 596, 1992 WL 83853, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hvidston-v-eastridge-indctapp-1992.