Matera Investors, Inc. v. Sunset Lake Fishing & Hunting Club

696 F. Supp. 1510, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10663, 1988 WL 99323
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedSeptember 20, 1988
DocketCiv. A. No. 87-74-VAL (WDO)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 696 F. Supp. 1510 (Matera Investors, Inc. v. Sunset Lake Fishing & Hunting Club) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Matera Investors, Inc. v. Sunset Lake Fishing & Hunting Club, 696 F. Supp. 1510, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10663, 1988 WL 99323 (M.D. Ga. 1988).

Opinion

ORDER

OWENS, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff Matera Investors, Inc., and defendant Sunset Lake Fishing and Hunting Club, Inc., are before the court in a diversity action in which each party seeks from the other, by complaint and counterclaim, tort damages and declaratory judgment. Both parties filed independent motions for partial summary judgment concerning the declaratory judgment counts of the complaint and counterclaim. The declaratory judgments sought by both parties concern the construction of a warranty deed dated May 14, 1945, by and between the Sunset Lake Fishing and Hunting Club and P.R. Lilly (hereinafter “Lilly Deed”), along with the resulting rights, obligations, and property interests of the parties. Both parties contend that construction is a matter of law for the court to decide. The court may grant a motion for summary judgment when “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Under Georgia law, construction of a contract is a question of law for the court to decide. O.C.G.A. § 13-2-1. “The interpretation of the language in a deed and in a contract is generally a question of law for the court unless it is so ambiguous that the ambiguity cannot be resolved by the ordinary rules of construction.” Hardman v. Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce, 238 Ga. 551, 233 S.E.2d 753 (1977).

Factual Background

The dispute in this case concerns the construction of a warranty deed dated May 14, 1945 (the “Lilly Deed”) which is in the chain of title to a 1,500 acre tract of land located in Lowndes County, Georgia, presently owned by plaintiff Matera Investors, Inc. (hereinafter “Matera”). Prior to May 14, 1945, defendant Sunset Lake Fishing and Hunting Club, Inc. (hereinafter “Sunset”) was the fee simple owner of a 2,584 acre tract of land located in Lowndes County, Georgia. In 1945, Sunset received an offer to purchase this tract of land. On May 15, 1945, Sunset executed a deed to the property (the “Lilly Deed”) to P.R. Lilly, the President of Sunset, who in turn, upon the same date, executed a deed to the property to the purchasers, W.W. Carroll, J.D. Carroll, and W.D. Martin. Through mesne conveyances, title to a 1,500 acre portion of the property described in the Lilly Deed has vested in Matera. The Lilly Deed contains certain reservations, including hunting and fishing rights, the construction of which are the basis for this lawsuit. A copy of the Lilly Deed is attached as Appendix A so the entire deed may be read in context.

The following numbered paragraphs are undisputed facts that summarize the dispute leading to this lawsuit.

1.

Plaintiff Matera is the fee simple owner of the property by record warranty deeds [1512]*1512of title and conveyance, including the Lilly Deed.

2.

Matera is in actual possession of the property based upon warranty deed of title.

3.

Defendant Sunset has not limited access to the property to the twenty-eight named members of the club.

4.

Sunset has allowed children of members and their friends to enter the property at will.

5.

Sunset has permitted use of the property by members’ families, dependents, and friends.

6.

Sunset has permitted use of the clubhouse premises by nonmembers for business and entertainment purposes, including office and college parties.

7.

In 1987, Matera applied to the Lowndes County Planning Commission for rezoning of the property for use and development as a mobile home subdivision.

8.

After application for rezoning, Sunset retained legal counsel who threatened to commence legal action against Matera if it obtained its desired rezoning.

9.

On March 4, 1987, Matera obtained its desired rezoning from agricultural use to single family residential.

10.

On November 24, 1987, Matera filed this action seeking a judicial declaration as to the parties’ rights, title, and interests in said property.

11.

Sunset's reservation of hunting and fishing privileges is properly construed as a profit a prendre, which is the right to take part of the land or produce of the land of another.

Discussion

This court must resolve five main issues in order to determine the respective rights, obligations, and property interests of the parties under the Lilly Deed. These issues, listed in the order of discussion by the court, are as follows:

1. Whether the Lilly Deed reserves for Sunset an interest in only the 3.03 acres of land adjoining Brown Pond (described in paragraph three of page three of the Lilly Deed) or an interest in the entire 1,500 acre tract described in paragraph thirty-three of Metera’s complaint?

2. Whether the Lilly Deed limits the use of Sunset’s interest to only its twenty-eight named members?

3. Whether the reservations and obligations set forth in the deed, incident to the reservation of hunting and fishing rights and exclusive use of the clubhouse parcel, constitute “covenants restricting lands to certain uses” which will cease to be enforceable in September, 1992, by operation of O.C.G.A. § 44-5-60(b)?

4. Whether Sunset's rights under the Lilly Deed preclude Matera’s good faith development of its 1,500 acres?

5. What are the respective rights of Matera and Sunset concerning the use of the surface of the waters above the lake beds on the premises?

I. The court will first determine whether the interests reserved in favor of Sunset in the Lilly Deed are limited to the 3.03 acre tract adjoining Brown Pond (described on page three, paragraph three of Lilly Deed) or extend to the entire 1,500 acre tract described in paragraph thirty-three of Matera’s complaint.

Matera contends that the Lilly Deed contains conflicting language concerning the extent of the rights reserved to Sunset and is ambiguous in that it is not clear what rights and obligations set forth in the deed refer to which of the two legal descriptions contained in the deed (the 3.03 acres or the 1,500 acres). Matera maintains that the deed must be construed narrowly against the grantor, Sunset, to limit Sunset’s rights, if any, to only the 3.03 acre tract.

[1513]*1513Under Georgia law, the construction of a contract is a question of law for the court to decide. O.C.G.A. § 13-2-1. A contract should be construed by the court where the language is undisputed, but the meaning of that language is in dispute. Board of Regents v. A.B. & E., Inc., 187 Ga.App. 671, 357 S.E.2d 100 (1987).

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696 F. Supp. 1510, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10663, 1988 WL 99323, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matera-investors-inc-v-sunset-lake-fishing-hunting-club-gamd-1988.