Muncy v. Harlan Bakeries, Inc.

930 N.E.2d 591, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1250, 2010 WL 2783874
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 15, 2010
Docket32A04-1001-PL-9
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 930 N.E.2d 591 (Muncy v. Harlan Bakeries, Inc.) 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
Muncy v. Harlan Bakeries, Inc., 930 N.E.2d 591, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1250, 2010 WL 2783874 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Appellants-Defendants/Counter-Plaintiffs, Kelly Lee Muncy, Kendra Marie Von-dersaar, Karen Kay Muncy, and Kim Sue Muncy (collectively, the Muncys), appeal the trial court's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law entered after remand proceedings, adjusting the prior damages award and ordering that Appellee-Plain-tiff/Counter-Defendant, Harlan Bakeries, Inc. (Harlan), abate certain eneroach-ments.

We affirm.

ISSUES

The Muncys raise two issues on appeal, which we restate as follows:

(1) Whether the trial court exceeded the scope of issues available on remand when it ordered Harlan to pay certain damages and to remove a retaining wall and encroaching curbs and blacktop from the Muneys' property; and
(2) Whether the Muncys are entitled to an award of attorney fees.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This case arises from a property dispute between adjoining landowners, Harlan and the Muncys, and is before us as an appeal of a trial court's Order entered after remand proceedings following this court's decision in Harlan Bakeries, Inc. v. Muncy, 835 N.E2d 1018 (Ind.Ct.App.2005) (Harlan I) which partially reversed the original judgment. Harlan and the Mun-cys own adjoining property on Production Drive in Avon, Indiana. Taken together, both properties form a large rectangle, with the Muncys' property consisting of a smaller rectangle in the southeast corner of the large rectangle. Two common borders exist; one on the north end of the Muncys' property (the North Boundary Line) and one on the west side of the *593 Muncys' property (the West Boundary Line).

In 2000, Harlan was engaged in a commercial construction project on its property. As part of the project, Harlan began removal of a 15" corrugated metal storm drainpipe (the West Storm Sewer) which was buried near the West Boundary Line. During this removal work, Harlan encountered resistance from the Munceys and consequently, on September 26, 2000, Harlan filed a complaint for a preliminary injunetion and a temporary restraining order. The complaint also included a request for a declaratory judgment regarding the exact locations of the two Boundary Lines and an allegation of trespass. That same day, the trial court entered a temporary restraining order, which (1) required the Muneys to remove their property encroaching on Harlan's project; (2) allowed Harlan to remove the West Storm Sewer pipe; and (3) set Harlan's motion for preliminary injunction for October 12, 2000. After several continuances and after being apprised that Harlan had removed the West Storm Sewer and poured a 130-foot-long, four-foot-high, four-inch-thick, solid concrete wall, the trial court dissolved the temporary restraining order against the Muneys and entered a new restraining order prohibiting Harlan from any further work on the West Storm Sewer until a full hearing could be held.

On November 8, 2000, the Muneys filed their answer, verified counterclaim, and request for preliminary injunction, which sought restoration of the West Storm Sewer and various damages. By April of 2001, Harlan had installed curbing and blacktop over the disputed property line, thereby changing the elevation of Harlan's property and reversing the historical water flow. As a result, in May of 2001, the Muncys filed a petition asking that Harlan be held in contempt for violating the October 12, 2000 order. On December 18, 2001, four days after holding a hearing on the matter, the trial court issued an order finding Harlan in contempt for violating the October 12, 2000 restraining order. The order also fined Harlan $500, awarded $1,000 in attorney fees to the Muncys, and further restrained Harlan from any construction within 10 feet of the West Boundary Line until further order of the trial court.

On June 10-11, and September 9, 2004, the trial court conducted a bench trial. On October 5, 2004, the trial court entered seventy-eight findings, twenty-six conclusions, and judgment, establishing the West and North Boundary Lines at the locations the Muneys requested. For purposes of this appeal, only the location of the West Boundary Line is relevant which the judgment established as being eighteen feet east of, and parallel to, the east side of Harlan's building. As a result of that location, the retaining wall Harlan had constructed and parts of the paving and curbs encroached on the Muncys' land. The trial court also determined that Harlan had improperly removed the West Boundary Sewer pipe. With respect to the Muncys' counterclaim, the judgment

awarded the following damages:

1. Cost of removing concrete wall and
replacing 15" corrugated drain pipe $142,273.00 2. Relocation of personal property $ 5,235.00
3. Loss of use of real estate $ 14,600.00 4. Damages pursuant to LC. § 84-24-8-1 $ 25,000.00
5. Fill for north end of property-75 loads x $150.00 $ 11,250.00
6. Attorney fees to [the Muncys' counsel] $ 40,706.12

Harlan I, 835 N.E.2d at 1029.

Harlan appealed. On October 13, 2005, we affirmed the trial court's decision in part, reversed it in part, and remanded the case back to the trial court for further proceedings. Id. at 1041. In light of the evidence presented, we disagreed with the trial court's conclusion that Harlan "unlawfully and in violation of a Temporary Restraining Order removed the" West Storm Sewer. Id. at 1034. However, we con *594 curred with the trial court's determination of the North and West Boundary Lines. Id. at 1030, 1082. The practical result of this finding was that "[wlhile we agree that Harlan could erect a wall on its property, pave its property and raise the elevation of its property, the [trial] court here found that Harlan ventured beyond its property. The [trial] court found that Harlan built the wall on [the Muncys'] property." Id. at 1083.

Turning to damages, we noted that "Iwlhile we will not second-guess the trial court's determination of damages where some evidentiary support exists, we are unable to reconcile certain portions of the order." Id. at 1085. 'We stated, in pertinent part, as follows:

The trial court determined that the West Boundary Line was eighteen feet from the freezer building, that Harlan installed its concrete wall on the [Mun-cys'] side of the West Boundary Line, and that the wall "will either actually or potentially further prevent and/or impede the drainage of excess water from the [Muneys] property." As noted [], Line 1 of the court's calculation of damages of damages sets out $142,273.00 for removing concrete wall and replacing 15" corrugated drain pipe. Presumably, the court relied upon Groninger's [the Muncys' expert] written estimate, which contains a grand total of $142,273.00. However, the Groninger estimate includes unspecified costs for removing the concrete wall as well as for constructing a new wall on your [Muncys'] side. This is problematic for various reasons. First, the language in Line 1 of the court's calculation does not seem to require construction of a new wall.

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930 N.E.2d 591, 2010 Ind. App. LEXIS 1250, 2010 WL 2783874, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/muncy-v-harlan-bakeries-inc-indctapp-2010.