Nelson v. Holliday

83 So. 3d 454, 2012 WL 917597, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 147
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedMarch 20, 2012
DocketNo. 2011-CA-00101-COA
StatusPublished

This text of 83 So. 3d 454 (Nelson v. Holliday) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nelson v. Holliday, 83 So. 3d 454, 2012 WL 917597, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 147 (Mich. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

GRIFFIS, P.J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. This case turns on whether a residence is a “modular” home as opposed to a “manufactured” or “mobile” home. Hudson Holliday and Darrin Harris, the property developers, seek to enforce protective covenants on the property. They claim the current landowners placed a disallowed “manufactured” home on the property. Betty Marie and Earl Lavon Nelson claim that they placed a “modular” home on their property, which was within the protective covenants. After both parties filed motions for summary judgment, the chancellor granted summary judgment in favor of Holliday and Harris without a hearing. The Nelsons now appeal. We find a genuine issue of a material fact in dispute. Therefore, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

FACTS

¶ 2. Holliday and Harris developed a parcel of real property located on H. Burge Road in Pearl River County, Mississippi. They properly executed and recorded protective covenants that covered the property.

¶ 8. On February 24, 2006, Holliday and Harris conveyed to James and Suzanne Yareha by warranty deed a parcel of the property subject to the protective covenants. On January 14, 2008, the Varehas conveyed the parcel by warranty deed, subject to the protective covenants, to Betty and Earl Nelson. On February 27, 2008, the Nelsons placed a residential structure on the parcel.

¶ 4. On April 7, 2008, Holliday and Harris filed a complaint for enforcement of declaration of protective covenants, for removal of manufactured housing, and for preliminary and permanent injunction. The complaint alleged that the protective covenants provided that “[mjanufactured housing will not be allowed on the property.” 1 The complaint also alleged that the residence the Nelsons placed on the property was “manufactured housing” and in violation of the protective covenants.

¶ 5. On April 29, 2008, the Nelsons filed their answer and counterclaim. Both Betty and Earl Lavon Nelson signed this pleading, their signature was acknowl[456]*456edged and it was stated under oath that the “matters, facts, and things set out in the above and foregoing complaint are true and correct.” In this pleading, the Nelsons denied that the residence was a “manufactured home” and claimed that it was a “modular home.” The Nelsons attached three documents. Exhibit “A” was a letter from the State Fire Marshal that stated this “Frankin-built structure, bearing serial number ..., is considered a modular home.” Exhibit “B” was a compilation of plans and specifications for the residence, which were approved by the State Fire Marshal. Exhibit “C” was a letter dated November 29, 2007, from Hudson Holliday, which read “[tjhis is to clarify that it is permissible to construct or place a modular home on the property that we sold along H. Burge Road.” The Nelsons’ counterclaim asked for damages and sanctions under the Litigation Accountability Act.

¶ 6. On January 15, 2010, the Nelsons filed a motion for summary judgment. In the motion, the Nelsons argued that they were entitled to summary judgment because the residence in question was a “modular home,” which did not violate the covenant.

¶ 7. On November 3, 2010, Holliday and Harris responded and filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. They argued that the residence was “manufactured housing” and in violation of the covenant. To support their motion, Holliday and Harris attached several documents including the Nelsons’ response to the requests for admissions, and they cited the statutory definitions in Mississippi Code Annotated section 75-49-3 (Rev.2000). The record does not contain a response from the Nelsons.

If 8. The record does not include a transcript of a hearing on the motions for summary judgment. On December 23, 2010, the chancellor denied the Nelsons’ motion and granted Holliday and Harris’s motion for summary judgment. The chancellor found the Nelsons’ residence was manufactured housing, found that the residence was in violation of the covenants, and ordered the immediate removal of the residence. It is from this judgment that the Nelsons now appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 9. The standard of review of an order granting summary judgment is de novo. PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. v. Lowery, 909 So.2d 47, 49 (¶ 8) (Miss.2005) (citing Hurdle v. Holloway, 848 So.2d 183, 185 (¶ 4) (Miss.2003)). It is well settled that “[a] summary judgment motion is only properly granted when no genuine issue of material fact exists. The moving party has the burden of demonstrating that no genuine issue of material fact exists within the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits.” Id. (internal citations and quotations omitted).

ANALYSIS

¶ 10. The ultimate issue presented in this case will be decided based on whether the Nelsons’ residence is considered a “modular” home or a “manufactured” home. The chancellor determined that it was a “manufactured” home and granted Holliday and Harris’s motion for summary judgment. The Nelsons argue that the chancellor’s summary judgment should be reversed because there were genuine issues of material fact in dispute. Thus, this Court must determine whether there are any genuine issues of material fact in dispute and whether Holliday and Harris are entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. M.R.C.P. 56. We must determine whether there are any issues to be tried.

¶ 11. The Nelsons refer the Court to their sworn pleading and the documents [457]*457attached. In the pleading, the Nelsons stated that the residence was a “modular home.” They included three attachments. First, they offered a letter a letter dated April 16, 2008, from the Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal to the seller of the residence, Lonnie Woods of Woods Home Center, LLC. The letter stated that “the noted Franklin-built structure, bearing the serial number ALFRH-038-13636 AB, is considered a modular home.” The Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal is authorized by statute to implement and enforce the regulations involving this chapter of the statute. See Miss.Code Ann. § 75-49-3(g). Second, the Nelsons offered approximately twenty-three pages of engineering plans and specifications for the residence. Third, they offered a letter from Holliday; this letter stated that “it is permissible to construct or place a modular home on the property.”

¶ 12. Holliday and Harris offered three documents to support their motion for summary judgment. First, they offered what they refer to as the “affidavit of Gregory Rodriguez ... indicating that the home could be moved in a matter of hours at a reasonable expense and is not placed upon a foundation.” The document states:

DROD Mobile Home Transport
[address and phone no.]
Movement of 32 x 80 on homeowners land. Breakdown would consist of 6 to 8 hours depending on inside trim, and carpet. Average estimate is between $4,500.00 to $4,800 within 50 mile radius. Any attachments such as porches, decks, would consist in more time and labor which would alter estimate.
State of Mississippi
County of Pearl River

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Related

PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. v. Lowery
909 So. 2d 47 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2005)
Hurdle v. Holloway
848 So. 2d 183 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
83 So. 3d 454, 2012 WL 917597, 2012 Miss. App. LEXIS 147, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nelson-v-holliday-missctapp-2012.