Pardue v. Brinegar

681 S.E.2d 435, 199 N.C. App. 210, 2009 N.C. App. LEXIS 1383
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedAugust 18, 2009
DocketCOA08-1367
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 681 S.E.2d 435 (Pardue v. Brinegar) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pardue v. Brinegar, 681 S.E.2d 435, 199 N.C. App. 210, 2009 N.C. App. LEXIS 1383 (N.C. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

ELMORE, Judge.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Elizabeth Elaine Pardue owns a tract of land in Wilkes County that adjoins and lies southwest of a tract owned by defendants Michael Brinegar, April Brinegar, and Frances Brinegar (the Brinegars). Pardue commenced a quiet title action on 31 May 2007 in order to determine the true boundary line between Pardue’s and the Brinegars’ tracts. Both parties claimed ownership of a 0.79 acre disputed zone.

Pardue’s chain of title described the boundary with the Brinegars’ tract as:

BEGINNING on a white oak in the old S.P. Smith line and runs up the branch, South 11 degrees West 32. poles to a maple, at the forks of said branch; then South 62 degrees East up the east prong of said branch 56 poles to a post oak on the east side of the public road.

(Emphasis added.)

The Brinegars’ chain of title described the same boundary as:

[From two white oaks in the S.P. Smith line on the west bank of a branch] then South 20 deg. West up said branch 32 poles to a maple at the fork of the branch; thence South 60 deg. East up the [212]*212left prong 56 poles to a white oak (now down) on the South side of the public road.

At trial, the parties agreed that the disputed zone should be bound by the white oak in the S.P. Smith line, the maple at the forks of the branch, and the oak on the public road. However, Pardue contended that “up the branch” meant that the boundary between these three markers was following the meandering path of a stream, while the Brinegars contended that the phrase merely indicated the general direction of the boundary and that the boundary therefore followed straight line segments. The nature of the boundary line— a branch or straight line segments — was the primary issue at trial. At the close of all evidence, Pardue moved for a directed verdict, which was denied by the trial court. The trial court then instructed the jury as follows:

Members of the jury, in cases such as this it is a function of the court to determine from the evidence presented a description of the boundary. After I give you the description of the boundary, it is your duty to use this description to locate the true boundary between the lands of the plaintiff and the defendant. I now instruct you that the description of the boundary is as follows:
Beginning on a white oak in the old S.P. Smith line and runs up the branch South 11 Vi degrees West 32 poles to a maple at the forks of said branch; then South 62 degrees East up the east prong of said branch 56 poles to a post oak on the east side of the public road leading from Wilkesboro to Winston-Salem.

The jury determined that the true boundary was as the Brinegars had contended — that is, the boundary consisted of a straight line segment between the white oak and the forks of the branch, and then continued in another straight line segment from the forks of the branch to the post oak. After the jury was dismissed, Pardue moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict; the motion was denied by the trial court, which then proceeded to enter a judgment in favor of the Brinegars based on the jury’s verdict.

Pardue now appeals. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

[213]*213ARGUMENTS

I.

Pardue’s first argument is that the trial court erred by denying her motion for directed verdict and submitting the issue of the boundary location to the jury. We disagree.

Of primary importance here is the question of whether the shape of the boundary was one to be decided by the trial court or by the jury. North Carolina courts have consistently distinguished the role of the jury from the role of the court in matters of boundary location. “The determination of what the boundaries are is a question of law for the court. The location of the boundaries on the ground is a factual question for the jury.” Cutts v. Casey, 271 N.C. 165, 167-68, 155 S.E.2d 519, 521 (1967) (emphases added); see also Brown v. Hodges, 232 N.C. 537, 541, 61 S.E.2d 603, 606 (1950) (“[W]hat constitutes the dividing line is a question of law for the court, but a controversy as to where the line is must be settled by the jury....”); Sherrod v. Battle, 154 N.C. 345, 70 S.E. 834, 837 (1911) (“What are the termini or boundaries of a tract of land, a grant[,] or deed ... is a matter of law; where these termini are, is a matter of fact.”).

In the present case, both parties agreed on the description and location of three markers that outlined the boundary; however, they disagreed on whether the boundary that connected those markers consisted of straight line segments or the meandering path of a creek. Pardue contends that the path of the boundary line goes to what constitutes the boundary, and, therefore; is a question of law that should have been determined by the trial court, not the jury. The Brinegars contend that the path of the boundary is a question of fact because the jury’s role is to decide where on the ground a boundary line is, and, therefore, the issue was properly submitted to the jury.

In this case, both parties had agreed upon the ground location of only three points on the boundary; the ground locations of all remaining points on the boundary were still in dispute. Using the chains of title, the trial court gave instructions describing what the disputed boundary should be: “Beginning on a white oak in the old S.P. Smith line and runs up the branch.” It was the jury’s job to use this description to determine where the remaining boundary points were located on the ground. The fact that three singular points out of the entire boundary had been agreed upon does not necessarily mean that the entire boundary’s ground location flows therefrom. The trial court [214]*214could have properly allowed Pardue’s motion for directed verdict only if “the location of th[e] boundary is admitted,” or “the location of the declared boundary is uncontroverted by evidence.” Brown, 232 N.C. at 541, 61 S.E.2d at 606. That is, a directed verdict is appropriate in boundary disputes only when there is no real factual dispute as to the boundary’s ground location, meaning that the issue resolves itself into a question of law. In the present case, however, the full ground location of the boundary had not been admitted, and the evidence of its location was precisely what was in dispute. If the trial court had decided the issue of whether the boundary followed a straight line or a meandering line, then the trial court would necessarily have been determining the controverted factual question of the location on the ground of the boundary, which is a duty specifically in the province of the jury. Cutts, 271 N.C. at 168-69, 155 S.E.2d at 521. Therefore, the location on the ground of the remaining points of the boundary line was properly for the jury’s determination.

The question then becomes whether there was enough evidence for the trial court to deny Pardue’s motion for a directed verdict and actually submit it to the jury.

The standard of review of directed verdict is whether the evidence, taken in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, is sufficient as a matter of law to be submitted to the jury.

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

Related

Perry v. Tillett
Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2014
Hutchinson v. Fender
689 S.E.2d 244 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2009)
Pardue v. Brinegar
681 S.E.2d 435 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
681 S.E.2d 435, 199 N.C. App. 210, 2009 N.C. App. LEXIS 1383, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pardue-v-brinegar-ncctapp-2009.