Knop v. Gardner Edgerton Unified School District No. 231

205 P.3d 755, 41 Kan. App. 2d 698, 2009 Kan. App. LEXIS 146
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedApril 10, 2009
DocketNo. 100,054
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 205 P.3d 755 (Knop v. Gardner Edgerton Unified School District No. 231) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Knop v. Gardner Edgerton Unified School District No. 231, 205 P.3d 755, 41 Kan. App. 2d 698, 2009 Kan. App. LEXIS 146 (kanctapp 2009).

Opinion

Malone, J.:

Treva L. Knop, Arlene Barlow, Rodney Barlow, Mymice M. Reimer, and Gary Reimer, plaintiffs, appeal the district court’s decision granting Gardner Edgerton Unified School District No. 231’s (U.S.D. No. 231) motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ petition for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. U.S.D. No. 231 purchased land from the plaintiffs under threat of condemnation for the stated purpose of building a school. Less than 2 years later, without building a school on the land, U.S.D. No. 231 sold the property to a developer for a profit of over one million dollars. Plaintiffs filed a petition for breach of contract against U.S.D. No. 231 and sought to recover tire profit. For the reasons set forth herein, we conclude the district court did not err in granting the motion to dismiss.

Prior to the summer of 2004, the plaintiffs owned 80 acres of land located in Johnson County, Kansas. Through letters and telephone calls, U.S.D. No. 231 had expressed an interest in acquiring the property from the plaintiffs. U.S.D. No. 231 informed the plaintiffs that it had purchased 40 acres of land adjacent to the [700]*700plaintiffs’ property and the school district wanted the plaintiffs’ land for the purpose of building an elementary, junior high, and high school. U.S.D. No. 231 repeatedly indicated to the plaintiffs that if they did not sell the property, then the school district intended to condemn the land by use of its powers of eminent domain. :

On August 7, 2004, the parties executed a real estate purchase agreement. The pertinent sections of the contract stated:

Under Section 2, U.S.D. No. 231 agreed to pay the plaintiffs $18,500 per acre for the land.
Under Section 4, the plaintiffs agreed to deliver a general warranty deed suitable for recording and conveying to U.S.D. No. 231 a good, marketable, and indefeasible fee simple title to the land, subject only to covenants, easements, and restrictions of record, and other encumbrances expressly approved by U.S.D. No. 231 in writing.
Under Section 9, if U.S.D. No. 231, prior to closing, discovered a condition that caused the land to be unsuitable for school purposes, then it would notify the plaintiffs of the condition and give them 30 days to correct the condition. If the plaintiffs were unable to correct the condition within 30 days, then U.S.D. No. 231 could: (1) proceed with the purchase, (2) give the plaintiffs additional time to correct the condition, or (3) cancel the agreement to purchase the land.
Under Section 13, the parties agreed that the covenants, representations, and warranties set forth in the Agreement survived the closing and delivery of the deed.
Under Section 21, U.S.D. No. 231 stated that it was purchasing the land in lieu of proceeding with any condemnation action. Furthermore, U.S.D. No. 231 stated that it was purchasing the land for the purpose of building a school and/or for other school purposes.

The parties closed on the contract on December 16, 2004. The total price U.S.D. No. 231 paid for the land was $1,433,154.30 (approximately 77.5 acres sold at $18,500 per acre). On July 26, [701]*7012006, the plaintiffs learned from their local newspaper that U.S.D. No. 231 had agreed to sell the land to a developer. The school district subsequently sold the land to Gardner Property LLC for $2,476,470.40, or approximately $32,000 per acre.

On September 13, 2007, the plaintiffs filed a petition for breach of contract against U.S.D. No. 231. According to the plaintiffs, U.S.D. No. 231 breached the contract when it sold the land to a developer after promising it would use the land for school purposes. The plaintiffs did not attempt to enjoin the school district from selling the land. Instead, the plaintiffs sought judgment against U.S.D. No. 231 for $1,043,316.10, representing the profit the school district realized from the sale of the land.

U.S.D. No. 231 filed a motion to dismiss the petition pursuant to K.S.A. 60-212(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. In the motion, U.S.D. No. 231 stated that the plaintiffs had conveyed an indefeasible fee simple title to the land and, therefore, the school district could do with the land whatever it wished. U.S.D. No. 231 contended that its statement in the contract concerning the purpose for buying the land was merely a general purpose clause expressing the school district’s intent at the time the contract was executed and it did not place a condition or covenant on the land that restricted its use.

The plaintiffs filed a response to the motion to dismiss and argued that because they sold their land to U.S.D. No. 231 under threat of condemnation, the school district’s acquisition of the land constituted a taking under the Eminent Domain Procedure Act, K.S.A. 26-501 et seq., and, as a result, K.S.A. 2008 Supp. 72-8212a applied to the transaction. According to the plaintiffs, this statute provided them with an option to repurchase the property from the school district at the contract price when the school district faded to use the property for school purposes.

On December 10, 2007, the district court conducted a hearing on the motion to dismiss and the parties argued their respective positions. On January 4, 2008, the district court filed a memorandum opinion and granted the school district’s motion. The district court determined the petition failed to state a claim for breach of contract. The district court agreed with U.S.D. 231 that its state[702]*702ment in the contract concerning the purpose for buying the land was merely a general purpose clause expressing the school district’s intent at the time the contract was executed and it did not place a condition or covenant on the land that restricted its use. Furthermore, the district court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that because they sold their land to U.S.D. No. 231 under threat of condemnation, the school district’s acquisition of the land constituted a taking under the Eminent Domain Procedure Act, and, as a result, K.S.A. 2008 Supp. 72-8212a applied to the transaction. The plaintiffs timely appeal.

On appeal, the plaintiffs claim the district court erred in granting U.S.D. No. 231’s motion to dismiss. The plaintiffs contend that the district court should have found the petition stated sufficient facts to support a claim of breach of contract. Furthermore, the plaintiffs argue that the district court failed to consider whether the facts alleged in the petition would have allowed the plaintiffs to prevail against the school district on any other possible theory. Finally, the plaintiffs argue that because they sold their land to U.S.D. No. 231 under threat of condemnation, the school district’s acquisition of the land constituted a taking under the Eminent Domain Procedure Act, and, as a result, K.S.A. 2008 Supp. 72-8212a applied to the transaction.

“When a motion to dismiss under K.S.A.

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Knop v. GARDNER EDGERTON UNIFIED SCH. DIST.
205 P.3d 755 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2009)

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Bluebook (online)
205 P.3d 755, 41 Kan. App. 2d 698, 2009 Kan. App. LEXIS 146, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/knop-v-gardner-edgerton-unified-school-district-no-231-kanctapp-2009.