In re Trackwell

520 B.R. 788, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 4783, 60 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 84, 2014 WL 6607495
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedNovember 19, 2014
DocketNo. 09-61596
StatusPublished

This text of 520 B.R. 788 (In re Trackwell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Trackwell, 520 B.R. 788, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 4783, 60 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 84, 2014 WL 6607495 (Mo. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEBTORS’ MOTION TO TURN OVER ESCROW FUNDS BEING HELD BY FIRST AMERICAN TITLE COMPANY OF OREGON (Doc. No. 512)

ARTHUR B. FEDERMAN, Chief Judge.

The instant motion concerns a dispute between Debtors Lloyd and Judith Track-well and the buyers of their Oregon ranch property, Charles and Charlene Wikstrom, over whether a cattle chute was included as a fixture in the sale. For the reasons that follow, I conclude that the cattle chute was not a fixture and, since the sale agreement did not include any personal property, the cattle chute was not included in the [790]*790sale. The Trackwells are, therefore, entitled to keep the cattle chute which they removed from the property prior to the sale, and First American Title Company of Oregon will be ordered to disburse the $15,000 being held in escrow to the Track-wells’ counsel.

The Trackwells were the owners of approximately 7,800 acres of real estate in Oregon known as the Imnaha Ranch. Pursuant to this Court’s Order and a contract for auctioneer Sheldon Good and Company to sell the Imnaha Ranch, a public auction sale was conducted on October 23, 2013. The Wikstroms were the successful bidders at the auction and the Court approved the sale to them. However, prior to the closing of the sale, a dispute arose as to whether the sale included a particular cattle chute which had been located on the property. As a result, the Order approving the sale provided that the cattle chute could not be removed from the Imnaha River Ranch without further Order of the Court.1 Shortly before closing, however, the Wikstroms discovered that the chute had been removed, in violation of the Order approving the sale.2 Nevertheless, they agreed to proceed with closing and to escrow $15,000 of the sale proceeds pending resolution of the question of whether the cattle chute had been included in the sale.

The answer to that question turns, first, on the language of the sale contract itself. The Purchase and Sale Agreement between the Trackwells and the Wikstroms (the Sale Agreement) described the property being sold, in relevant part, as follows:

The real estate and improvements situated in the County of Wallawa, State of Oregon, commonly known [as] 71690 Lower Imnaha Road, together with all buildings, improvements, fixtures, and property attached hereto and made a part hereof owned by the Seller located in, on, attached to, or used in connection with the Property.... 3

In addition, the Sale Agreement provided that, “[u]nless otherwise indicated, no personal property will be sold.”4 Similarly, Exhibit C to the Sale Agreement, entitled “Personal Property List” stated only: “Unless otherwise indicated, no personal property will be sold.” No personal property was listed on Exhibit C.

Under these provisions, the Sale Agreement plainly provided that no personal property was included in the sale. Thus, in order for the cattle chute to have been included in the sale, it must fall within the meaning of the phrase “attached hereto and made a part hereof owned by the Seller located in, on, attached to, or used in connection with the Property.”

At the outset, the Wikstroms assert that this phrase should be interpreted to include any “property ... used in connection with” the ranch, which would include the cattle chute. However, such an interpretation would include nearly anything locat[791]*791ed on the ranch, including vehicles and the like, which clearly was not intended by any party. Rather, in light of the clear exclusion of personal property in the Sale Agreement, I interpret the phrase to mean that, in order to be included in the sale, an item must have been “attached [to the Property] and made a part [of the Property]” — in effect, a fixture.

Because the Sale Agreement provided that “[t]he provisions of this Agreement shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the state in which the Property is located,”5 Oregon law controls.

As the Wikstroms assert, “[ordinarily, the party seeking relief bears the burden of proving all facts necessary to obtain that relief.”6 However, the Ninth Circuit has held that, when interpreting a contract such as this one, the meaning should not depend on who instituted the action.7 Here, it could have been either the Trackwells or the Wikstroms who filed the motion bringing this matter to a head and I agree that, in this instance, the burden should not be placed on the party who chose to do so. The Wikstroms also assert that the burden of proof is on the party claiming that an item is personal property and not part of the realty. However, the cases they cite dealt with buildings or similar items that were at least constructively attached to the land,8 which created a presumption that they were part of the land, and that presumption had to be rebutted by the party claiming the item was not a fixture. As discussed below, the cattle chute at issue here was not attached to the land. But, in any event, even if the burden does fall on the Trackwells to prove that the cattle chute was not a fixture, I find that they have satisfied the burden.

Under Oregon law, “[t]here is.no definite, hard and fast rule by means of which the legal character of fixtures may be ascertained.”9 However, three tests are used as a “general guide to be modified by the particular circumstances in each case,”10 namely:

[792]*792(1) Real or constructive 'annexation of the articles in question to the realty;
(2) appropriation or adaptation to the use or purpose of that part of the realty with which it is connected; [and]
(3) the intention of the party making the annexation, to make the article a permanent accession to the freehold, this intention being inferred from the nature of the article affixed, the relation and situation of the party making the annexation, the policy of the law in relation thereto, the structure and mode of the annexation, and the purpose or use for which the annexation has been made.11

As to the first element, annexation:

Annexation, actual or constructive is an essential element. Pure examples of constructive annexation are found in cases where, after having been actually annexed, an article is severed from the realty for some temporary purpose.... [T]he courts in many of the states have abandoned the notion that to constitute an irremovable fixture the article must be attached to the land by bolts or nails or be imbedded in brick or stone.12

The cattle chute at issue here has also been referred to as a “hydraulic squeeze chute.” The only evidence as to the nature of the cattle chute came from two photographs submitted by the Track-wells and the testimony of Debtor Judith Trackwell. She testified that cattle go into the chute, which is then squeezed tight by hydraulics, so that the animal is positioned to be inoculated or branded. In contrast to a “loading chute” located on the ranch, which is affixed to the land, she testified that this hydraulic squeeze chute is used throughout the ranch and is moved from location to location on the ranch by use of a trailer. The photographs corroborate this testimony.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Waldorf v. Elliott
330 P.2d 355 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1958)
Marsh v. Boring Furs, Inc.
551 P.2d 1053 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1976)
George v. SCHOOL DIST. NO. 8R, UMATILLA CTY.
490 P.2d 1009 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1971)
Berger v. Stephan
250 P.3d 954 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2011)
Johnson v. Hicks
626 P.2d 938 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1981)
Builders Appliance Supply Co. v. A. R. John Construction Co.
455 P.2d 615 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1969)
Dunn v. Assets Realization Co.
17 P.2d 1118 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1932)
Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Kimball
94 P.2d 1101 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1939)
Muir v. Jones
19 L.R.A. 441 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1892)
First State & Savings Bank v. Oliver
198 P. 920 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1921)
State v. T. M.
211 P.3d 359 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
520 B.R. 788, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 4783, 60 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 84, 2014 WL 6607495, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-trackwell-mowb-2014.