Kings River Trail Ass'n v. Pinehurst Trail Holdings, L.L.C.

447 S.W.3d 439, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 10738, 2014 WL 4852744
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 25, 2014
Docket14-12-00967-CV, 14-12-01008-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 447 S.W.3d 439 (Kings River Trail Ass'n v. Pinehurst Trail Holdings, L.L.C.) 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
Kings River Trail Ass'n v. Pinehurst Trail Holdings, L.L.C., 447 S.W.3d 439, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 10738, 2014 WL 4852744 (Tex. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

SUBSTITUTE OPINION 1

KEM THOMPSON FROST, Chief Justice

These consolidated appeals are from a judgment disposing of various claims be *442 tween a company that purchased property on which golf courses and undeveloped acreage were located, on one side, and owners of nearby homes and two homeowners’ associations on the other side. In the appeal by the homeowners’ associations, we address whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment as to the associations’ claims that they adversely possessed certain biking and hiking trails. We-also determine whether we may address the merits of the associations’ appellate issue regarding certain requests for declaratory relief despite the associations’ failure to request a record of all trial evidence and their failure to submit a statement of points or issues to be presented on appeal, as required by Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 34.6(c). In the appeal by the owner of the undeveloped acreage, we consider whether the trial court abused its discretion by failing to award attorney’s fees under the Declaratory Judgments Act and whether this court should award just damages under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 45 based on a frivolous appeal. We affirm the trial court’s judgment but deny the request for frivolous-appeal damages.

I. Factual and ProCedural BaCkground

Kings River Trail Association, Inc. and Kings River Village Community Association, Inc. (collectively the “Associations”) and various individuals filed suit against Pinehurst Trail Holdings, L.L.C. (“Pine-hurst”). Eventually the individual plaintiffs were Kevin Donnellan, Michael Dole, Ollie Dole, Carroll Kite, Joan Kite, Gary Levicky, Edward Miller, Shirley Miller, Robert Morgan, Sylvia Morgan, John Ping, Marsha Ping, James Polk, Debra Polk, Terry Raatz, Linda Raatz, Douglas Smith, Pamela Smith, Sidney Smith, Ruth Smith, Joseph Zolman, Marcey Zolman, Darin Lasater, and Kristi Lasater (collectively the “Individual Plaintiffs”).

The Associations and the Individual Plaintiffs (hereinafter collectively the “Plaintiffs”) alleged that the property at issue in this lawsuit lies within subdivisions known as Pinehurst of Atascocita, Island Greens, and Kings River Village and that within this area were three nine-hole golf courses, as well as roughly eighty-five acres of land originally designated for golf course use, of which 53.075 acres (hereinafter the “Property”) were deed restricted to golf course use only when Pinehurst purchased the Property. The Plaintiffs asserted that each of the Individual Plaintiffs owned a single-family residence built on a lot in this area that is immediately adjacent to one of the three golf courses or to the undeveloped eighty-five acres (hereinafter the “Undeveloped Acreage”). In 2009, Pinehurst purchased the property on which the three nine-hole golf courses were located, as well as the Undeveloped Acreage.

In their live pleading, the Plaintiffs alleged that each of the Associations owns property immediately adjacent to the Undeveloped Acreage or has maintained greenbelt trails on this property (hereinafter the “Trails”) and that each of the Associations has acquired title to part of the Undeveloped Acreage by adverse possession. The Plaintiffs asserted various claims and sought damages and injunctive relief. They also sought a declaratory judgment that (1) the Undeveloped Acreage is part of a golf course and country club scheme or general plan creating an implied covenant or equitable servitude in favor of the Plaintiffs that is binding on Pinehurst; (2) the Undeveloped Acreage is subject to a “Golf Course Use Only” re *443 striction; (3) the “Amendment to Correction Special Warranty Deed” executed in 2009 (hereinafter “2009 Amendment”), which purports to alter a use restriction on the Property, is 'an invalid deed; and (4) the Associations have acquired title to portions of Pinehurst’s property through adverse possession.

The trial court granted Pinehurst’s no-evidence motion for summary judgment as to the Associations’ adverse-possession claims and fraud claims. The trial court denied various summary-judgment motions, including a summary-judgment motion in which the Plaintiffs asserted that the 2009 Amendment was invalid. The Plaintiffs’ remaining claims were tried in a two-week jury trial. The jury found, among other things, that there was no general plan or scheme of development whereby the Property was restricted to golf course use for the benefit of adjacent subdivided lot owners.

The Plaintiffs filed a “Motion for Entry of Judgment,” in which they asserted that they were entitled as a matter of law to a declaratory judgment that the Undeveloped Acreage is subject to a “Golf Course Use Only” restriction and that the 2009 Amendment is invalid. The trial court impliedly denied this motion when it rendered its final judgment. In this judgment, the trial court determined that it would not be equitable or just to award attorney’s fees, and the court did not award attorney’s fees under the Declaratory Judgments Act to any party. The Associations and Pinehurst appealed. The Individual Plaintiffs did not appeal. 2

II. Issues and Analysis

In their appeal, the Associations assert the trial court improperly (1) granted Pi-nehurst’s no-evidence motion for summary judgment as to the Associations’ adverse-possession claims; (2) denied the Associations’ no-evidence motion for summary judgment as to the alleged invalidity of the 2009 Amendment; and (3) denied the Associations’ requests for a declaratory judgment that the Undeveloped Acreage is subject to a “Golf Course Use Only” restriction and that the 2009 Amendment is an invalid deed. In its appeal, Pinehurst asserts the trial court abused its discretion under the Declaratory Judgments Act in failing to award Pinehurst its reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees. Pinehurst also asserts that it should be awarded damages against the Associations under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 45 because the Associations’ appeal is frivolous. This court has consolidated these two appeals.

A. Was Pinehurst’s summary-judgment motion as to the Associations’ adverse-possession claims ripe?

For the first time on appeal, the Associations assert that Pinehurst’s summary-judgment motion was not ripe because it sought dismissal of the Associations’ adverse-possession claims before the Associations had asserted any such claims. Pinehurst asserted that there was no evidence as to essential elements of the Associations’ adverse-possession claims. An inquiry as to whether these no-evidence summary-judgment grounds were ripe for determination focuses on whether the these grounds involve uncertain or contingent future events that may not occur as anticipated or may not occur at all. See Patterson v. Planned Parenthood of Houston & Southeast Tex., Inc., 971 S.W.2d 439, 442 (Tex.1998). The ripeness doctrine *444 serves to avoid premature adjudication. See id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
447 S.W.3d 439, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 10738, 2014 WL 4852744, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kings-river-trail-assn-v-pinehurst-trail-holdings-llc-texapp-2014.