MacKiewicz v. Metzger

750 N.E.2d 812, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 943, 2001 WL 615088
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 6, 2001
Docket82A01-0003-CV-70
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 750 N.E.2d 812 (MacKiewicz v. Metzger) 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
MacKiewicz v. Metzger, 750 N.E.2d 812, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 943, 2001 WL 615088 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinions

OPINION

FRIEDLANDER, Judge.

David Mackiewiez purchased a lakefront lot in what shortly thereafter was platted as a subdivision. A subsequent plat for an adjoining subdivision called for the creation of a roadway by constructing a levee across the lake at a point near Mackiew-iecz's property, thereby restricting Mack-iewiez's ability to easily access a significant portion of the lake. In a lawsuit filed against William Metzger, Lost Lakes, Inc., Wileoin, Inc., Lake Group, Inc. (unless otherwise indicated, hereinafter collectively referred to as "Developers"), and the War-rick County Area Plan Commission (the Plan Commission), Mackiewiez thereafter sought monetary damages and an injunetion against future actions that might further restrict his access to the lake. In due course, the parties filed several summary judgment motions. - Mackiewiez appeals the. denial of his second motion for partial summary judgment, as well as the granting of summary judgment motions filed on behalf of Developers and the Plan Commission, respectively. Upon appeal, Mack-iewiez presents the following restated issues for review:

1. Did the trial court err in granting summary judgment in favor of Developers?
2. Did the trial court err in granting summary judgment in favor of the Plan Commission?
3. Did the trial court err in denying Mackiewiez's summary judgment motion?

We affirm.

The undisputed facts are that in 1992, James Harris and Jerry Aigner agreed to form a company called Wileoin, Inc. for the purpose of launching a real estate venture. Harris and Aigner negotiated with Peabody Land Development, Inc. and eventually agreed to purchase approximately 2000 acres of undeveloped, unplatted land in Warrick County, Indiana. A portion of the land in question had been strip-mined, which resulted in the creation of a series of stripper pit lakes. Some of those lakes were interconnected. By the time of the purchase, Aigner had ceased his involvement in the venture with Harris. Thereafter, Harris incorporated Wileoin and completed the purchase of the real estate. Eventually, Wileoin's large parcel of land was divided into smaller parcels. Within those smaller parcels are located certain parcels of real estate relevant to this appeal. Those parcels of real estate are the Paradise Lakes Exempt Division (Wileoin Exempt Division), the Paradise Lakes Subdivision, the Lake Group Land, and the Lake Group Exempt Division.

[815]*815In 1992, Mackiewiez was serving in the United States Navy in Virginia. He intended to return home to Indiana when his tour with the Navy ended, so he was interested in purchasing real estate on which to build a house. He became aware that Wileoin was going to auction lots in the Wileoin Exempt Division. After some research, he authorized his parents to attend the auction, where, on October 9, 1992, they placed a successful bid on his behalf for tract 15A. On that same day, Mackiew-iecz's parents signed on his behalf a document entitled "Building and Occupancy Restrictions [-] Paradise Lakes [hereinafter referred to as "the Restrictions"]." Supplemental Record at 146. Paragraph 6 of that document is central to the instant controversy and provides:

All lakes common to the boundary of Paradise Lakes may be used by all lot and/or tract owners. No gasoline or diesel engines, 10 horsepower (H.P.) or above, will be permitted. No jet skis will be permitted.
All lot and/or tract owners adjoining the lakes shall be responsible for their part of maintenance of the lake and must keep lake free from debris and other foreign materials. Lot and/or tract owners adjoining lake must abide by restrictions as set forth by the Paradise Lakes Association for perpetual maintenance of the lake and appurtenances thereto.

Supplemental Record at 148. The above restrictions explicitly provided that they applied only to the specified lots lots 1-15¢A and 26-77 in the Wileoin Exempt Division). Mackiewiez signed a purchase agreement for the lot on October 10, 1992.

We have included a crude diagram of the real estate in controversy. We caution that the diagram is not to scale and is intended only for purposes of clarification. In very general terms, tract 15A was triangular in shape, with two of the sides running north-south and east-west, respectively, while the hypotenuse of the triangle ran generally from northeast to southwest. The property line that we refer to herein as the hypotenuse was formed generally by a portion of a stripper pit lake, which ran a considerable distance in each direction beyond the boundaries of lot 15A.

The Wileoin Exempt Division plat was recorded on December 14, 1992. On February 83, 1998, Wilcoin recorded building and occupancy restrictions relating to tracts 1 through 26 and lots 27 through 77 of the Wileoin Exempt Division. The Wil-coin Exempt Division plat reveals, however, that there are no lots number 27 through 77; the Wileoin Exempt Division, as platted, was comprised of only tracts 1 though 20 and tract 15A. On April 30, 1993, Wileoin recorded the plat of the Paradise Lakes Subdivision. On May 25, 1993, Wileoin recorded building and occu-paney restrictions relative to Paradise Lakes. In 1994, Lake Group, Inc. purchased approximately 1500 acres from Wil-coin. We will refer herein to that land as the Lake Group land. No portion of the Wileoin Exempt Division or the Paradise Lakes Subdivision is or was ever located within the Lake Group land. Moreover, the special warranty deed by which Wil-coin conveyed the Lake Group land did not subject that land to the restrictions imposed upon residents of the Wileoin Exempt Division.

On September 27, 1996, Lake Group, Inc. recorded a plat for the Lake Group land, thereby forming the Lake Group Exempt Division. Parcel 3 of the Lake Group Exempt Division was located across the stripper pit lake that formed the hypotenuse boundary of tract 15A. Parcel 4 of the Lake Group Exempt Division was located directly south of Parcel 3. Sometime after the Lake Group Ex[816]*816empt Division Plat was recorded, Lake Group, Inc. constructed a roadway (hereinafter referred to as the "access levee") across the stripper pit lake at approximately the location where Parcels 3 and 4 intersected, by pushing in the sides of the stripper pit and filling it in with dirt at that point. The access levee was contained entirely on Lake Group Exempt Division land and did not encroach upon Mackiewiez's property or any other property located within the Wileoin Exempt Division. The access levee, which was located approximately 500 feet south of the southern border of tract 15A, blocked Mackiewiez's access to a considerable portion of the stripper pit lake system.

On March 31, 1997, Mackiewiez filed a six-count Verified Complaint for Injunctive Relief, Declaratory Judgment and Damages, naming as defendants the Plan Commission, William Metzger (an officer of Lake Group, Inc.), Lost Lakes, Inc., Wil-coin, Inc., and Lake Group, Inc. Mackiew-icz filed an amended complaint on April 9, 1997. Under Count I of the amended complaint, Mackiewiez sought an order against Metzger and Lake Group, Inc. enjoining them from "further interferifig with [Mackiewieg's] access rights," Record at 38, and from maintaining the access levee, based upon the allegation that the recording of the Lake Group plat deprived him of valuable property rights without compensation or due process of law.

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MacKiewicz v. Metzger
750 N.E.2d 812 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2001)

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Bluebook (online)
750 N.E.2d 812, 2001 Ind. App. LEXIS 943, 2001 WL 615088, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mackiewicz-v-metzger-indctapp-2001.