Payne v. Rutledge

391 S.W.3d 875, 2013 WL 462065, 2013 Ky. App. LEXIS 27
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedFebruary 8, 2013
DocketNo. 2011-CA-000953-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 391 S.W.3d 875 (Payne v. Rutledge) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Payne v. Rutledge, 391 S.W.3d 875, 2013 WL 462065, 2013 Ky. App. LEXIS 27 (Ky. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

ACREE, Chief Judge:

This matter involves a dispute over a shared driveway. Beulah Payne filed suit against Stanley and Joel Lynn Rutledge claiming they had breached an agreement concerning maintenance of an easement, demanding that the easement be terminated, and seeking damages for the alleged breach. The Knox Circuit Court entered summary judgment in favor of the Rut-ledges, finding the uncontested evidence [877]*877demonstrated they had not breached the agreement and furthermore, breach of the agreement would not warrant termination of the easement. We are asked on appeal to determine whether the circuit court correctly construed the agreement as a matter of law. We affirm the judgment in its entirety.

I. Facts and procedure

Payne and her husband acquired a plot of land in 1976.1 They lived in the house which had been built on that land. In 1983, they conveyed a portion of the property to their son and daughter-in-law, Earl and Paula Payne, who built their own home there. Rather than building a separate driveway for the new home, Earl and Paula simply used the driveway which served the home in which Payne and her husband lived.

Earl and Paula sold their home to Stanley Rutledge in 199S.2 Nearly simultaneously with the sale of the home, Rutledge entered into an agreement with Payne entitled, “Easement and private road maintenance agreement.” The relevant substance of the agreement follows:

WHEREAS, the parties share a driveway located between their respective properties; and
WHEREAS, the parties desire to set forth with particularity! ] their agreement regarding maintenance of the aforesaid driveway;
NOW THEREFORE!,] for and in a valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties do hereby ratify the easement of the other in and to the driveway existing between their properties[] and agree that all costs and expenses incidental to the maintenance, repair!,] or rebuilding of ... said driveway shall be equally born[e] by the parties with [Payne] paying one-half of such costs and expenses, and [Rutledge] paying one-half of such costs and expenses.

Prior to 2008, the driveway had always been merely dirt or gravel covered. Payne then decided to pave it with concrete. At the same time, she also chose to pour concrete for a walkway and a step on her property which were not part of the easement. She did not alert Rutledge to her intention regarding the driveway, however, until the day the workers came to pour the concrete. She later demanded that the Rutledges pay one-half of her expenses, which she estimated to be $8,500.

The Rutledges refused to contribute to the cost of the concrete work. Payne filed suit against her neighbors in 2010 alleging they had breached the contract by failing to pay for half of the work and seeking an order of rescission or termination of the easement.

The Rutledges disagreed that Payne was entitled to the recovery she sought. First, they claimed, a portion of the area paved with concrete — including part of the driveway, the walkway, and step — was not part of the easement and therefore not subject to the maintenance agreement. Furthermore, they maintained, the agreement did not permit either party to unilaterally choose to pave the dirt and gravel driveway. They argued that, without their prior consent to undertake such a change, they were not responsible to help bear the cost. The Rutledges noted that although [878]*878Payne had quoted a sum as the cost of the concrete work, she had failed to provide invoices, receipts, or other proof in support of that figure. They believed they were not obligated to pay Payne the amount she demanded without proof of the actual cost. Finally, the Rutledges claimed that the easement existed independent of the written agreement, and it could therefore not be terminated even if the agreement were rescinded.

Following a period of discovery, the Rut-ledges filed a motion for summary judgment. The circuit court noted that the parties disagreed — and had presented conflicting evidence — about the exact boundaries of the easement, but stated the disagreement was immaterial because the matter could be resolved on other, undisputed grounds. Based on those undisputed grounds, the circuit court entered summary judgment in favor of the Rutledges.

Payne appealed claiming three errors on the part of the circuit court. First, she claims it was error to find that paving the drive with concrete was beyond the subject matter of the easement and maintenance agreement. Second, she claims it error to hold that the Rutledges’ prior consent was necessary before Payne could require them to defray the cost of paving. And third, she claims the court erred by failing to rescind the agreement.

II. Standard of review

A circuit court may enter summary judgment only when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to prevail as a matter of law. Inter-Tel Technologies, Inc. v. Linn Station Properties, LLC, 860 S.W.3d 152, 165 (Ky.2012). Because the resulting judgment involves only questions of law, our review is de novo. Jones v. Board of Educ. of Laurel County, 295 S.W.3d 120, 121 (Ky.App.2008) (citation omitted).

III. Analysis

A. Paving the drive not contemplated by the easement and maintenance agreement

The circuit court first concluded that paving the dirt drive3 with concrete was a radical change to the structure that was the subject matter of the easement, and outside the maintenance contemplated by the parties’ agreement. Consequently, the circuit court found Payne could not undertake this task and expect her neighbors to pay for half of the cost without their prior agreement.

Payne argues the circuit court should have found her actions constituted a rebuilding of the driveway, as expressly permitted by the written agreement. She believes the Rutledges were obligated to pay for half of the construction cost on that basis.

As a general matter,

construction and interpretation of a contract, including questions regarding ambiguity, are questions of law to be decided by the court. Where there is no ambiguity, a written instrument is to be strictly enforced according to its terms which are to be interpreted by assigning language its ordinary meaning and without resort to extrinsic evidence.

Allen v. Lawyers Mut Ins. Co. of Kentucky, 216 S.W.3d 657, 659 (Ky.App.2007) (internal citations and quotations omitted). The circuit court identified no ambiguity.

Whether Payne’s paving of the drive was permitted by the terms of the contract will depend upon the meanings of the [879]*879words maintain, repair, and rebuild, as used therein.

The opinion rendered in Thompson v. Bracken County is helpful in ascertaining the meaning of the words at issue in this case.

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Bluebook (online)
391 S.W.3d 875, 2013 WL 462065, 2013 Ky. App. LEXIS 27, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/payne-v-rutledge-kyctapp-2013.