Markowicz v. SWEPI LP

940 F. Supp. 2d 222, 2013 WL 1563888, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53122
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 12, 2013
DocketNo. 4:11-cv-00439
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 940 F. Supp. 2d 222 (Markowicz v. SWEPI LP) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Markowicz v. SWEPI LP, 940 F. Supp. 2d 222, 2013 WL 1563888, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53122 (M.D. Pa. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

MATTHEW W. BRANN, District Judge.

For the following reasons, defendants’ motion for summary judgment is granted; plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is denied.

I. The Complaint

Plaintiff-lessor Karl Markowicz (“Karl” or, where unambiguous, “Markowicz”) asks this Court to void a lease under which defendants-lessees, SWEPI LP (“SWEPI”) and Ultra Resources, Inc. (“Ultra”), are permitted to explore and exploit Markowicz’s land for oil and gas. Markowicz claims he is entitled to relief because (1) he never signed the lease (Rec. Doc. No. 6 ¶ 18); (2) his mother, Beverly Markowicz (“Beverly”), who signed for him, was without “right or authority” to do so (Id. at ¶¶ 19-20); and (3) Beverly’s own signature was fraudulently induced by a representative of defendants (Id. at ¶¶ 22-25).

II. Summary Judgment Standard

The parties have filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Summary judgment is appropriate where “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(a). A fact is “material” where it “might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute is “genuine” where “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury,” giving credence to the evidence favoring the nonmovant and resolving all inferences in the nonmovant’s favor, “could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Id.

Where the moving party’s motion is properly supported, the nonmoving party, to avoid summary judgment in his opponent’s favor, must answer by setting forth “genuine factual issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party.” Id. at 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

For movants and nonmovants alike, the assertion "that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must" be supported by "materials in the record" that go beyond mere allegations, or by "showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an [225]*225adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact." Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1). See also Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505. "If a party fails to properly support an assertion of fact or fails to properly address another party’s assertion of fact as required by Rule 56(c), the court may ... consider the fact undisputed for purposes of the motion." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)(2). The Court may even give credence to "evidence supporting the moving party that is uncontradicted and unimpeached, at least to the extent that that evidence comes from disinterested witnesses." Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., 530 U.S. 133, 151, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000) (quoting 9A C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure § 299 (2d ed. 1995)).

When considering cross-motions for summary judgment, the Court considers each motion separately, applying the standard set forth above. See Transportes Ferreos de Venezuela II CA v. NKK Corp., 239 F.3d 555, 560 (3d Cir.2001) (quoting Rains v. Cascade Indus., Inc., 402 F.2d 241, 245 (3d Cir.1968) (cross-motions for summary judgment "are no more than a claim by each side that it alone is entitled to summary judgment"); Benckini v. Hawk, 654 F.Supp.2d 310, 315 (E.D.Pa. 2009). The Court cannot view "facts" in the light most favorable to two nonmoving parties simultaneously, and in some cases the best course may be to recite two statements of "facts" for the same case or even to write entirely separate opinions disposing of the respective motions. See Interbusiness Bank, N.A. v. First Nat’l Bank of Mifflintown, 318 F.Supp.2d 230, 236 (M.D.Pa.2004). The Court in this case has written a single opinion with a single recitation of the facts because the factual disputes between the parties are few.

III. Factual Background1

The following recitation of facts is derived primarily from the parties’s statements of material facts and admitted portions of the amended complaint. (Rec. Doc. Nos. 6, 30, 33, 37 & 39). The facts are undisputed unless noted.

Plaintiff Karl Markowicz has been a college professor in Williamsport, Pennsylvania for 27 years. (Rec. Doc. No. 33 ¶ 1). He is the son of Beverly Markowicz. (Id. at ¶ 8).

At the center of this litigation is a 46 acre property in Delmar Township, Tioga County, Pennsylvania (the “46 acres”), where Beverly grew up. (Rec. Doc. Nos. 31 ¶ 1; 33 ¶ 10). Beverly later moved to another residence that factors prominently in this controversy, a home approximately three miles away from the 46 acres on Pearl Street in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania (the “Pearl Street residence”). (Rec. Doc. No. 33 ¶¶ 9). The Pearl Street residence is where Beverly raised Karl (Id. at ¶¶ 6, [226]*2267), and where she has lived for the past 60 years, (Id. at 33 ¶ 9).

Although he has not lived at the Pearl Street residence for some time (Id. at ¶¶ 4, 5), Karl’s “legal address” and the address at which he receives his mail is—and at all relevant times has been—Beverly’s Pearl Street residence. (Id. at ¶ 6). Karl explains that “he kept that address as his legal residence when he moved to attend college and find employment as a way for him to be reached and receive mail.” (Id. at if 7). He is not, however, often physically present at the address, and does not normally retrieve his mail from the mailbox. (Id. at ¶ 12). Beverly gets the mail for Karl. (Rec. Doc. No. 31 ¶ 30).

The parties dispute the degree to which Beverly manages Karl’s other affairs. Karl testified that Beverly was at one time authorized by power of attorney to “sign my checks and put them in my checking account” at Citizens & Northern Bank, but otherwise lacked authority to manage his affairs. (Rec. Doc. No. 33-2 at 29). Defendants point to Beverly’s testimony that she handled her son’s finances “at times when needed” to argue that Beverly’s authority was broader. (Rec. Doc. No. 31-9 at 36). The parties agree that Beverly does Karl’s taxes. (Rec. Doc. No. 31 ¶ 45).

It is also agreed that in 1988 Karl purchased a one-half undivided interest in the 46 acres from Charles Stadler, Beverly’s stepbrother, and Charles’s wife Florence (“Karl’s half interest”). (Rec. Doc. Nos. 31 ¶ 1; 33 ¶ 23). The other one-half undivided interest in the 46 acres was at that time owned by Beverly (“Beverly’s half interest”). (Rec. Doc. No. 3 ¶ 2).

Karl and Beverly owned the 46 acres as tenants in common until Beverly conveyed her half interest to Karl on or about November 30, 2005, making Karl the sole owner of the subject property. (Rec. Doc. Nos. 31 ¶¶ 3, 9; 33 ¶ 31).

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
940 F. Supp. 2d 222, 2013 WL 1563888, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53122, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/markowicz-v-swepi-lp-pamd-2013.