Reaves v. Lindsay

326 S.W.3d 276, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 6092, 2010 WL 2991092
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 29, 2010
Docket01-09-00179-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 326 S.W.3d 276 (Reaves v. Lindsay) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reaves v. Lindsay, 326 S.W.3d 276, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 6092, 2010 WL 2991092 (Tex. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION

LAURA CARTER HIGLEY, Justice.

Appellants, William Reaves and Linda Reaves, appeal the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Appellees, Sheldon Lindsay and Elaine Lindsay, in a dispute over an express easement. Appellants argue that the trial court erred by determining that the easement prevented the installation of gates or cattle guards and by not determining that the installation of gates or cattle guards would not unreasonably interfere with the use of the easement. Alternatively, Appellants argue that the issue of whether installing gates or cattle guards would unreasonably interfere with the use of the easement is a question of fact that cannot be resolved by summary judgment. In a cross-point, Ap-pellees argue that Appellants do not own an interest in the land that is controlled by the easement.

We reverse and remand.

Background

All the portions of land related to this suit were once owned by Everett Luhn. This original property is located in Austin County, Texas and abuts F.M. Road 2502. Luhn sold the portion of property that is now owned by the Lindsays in 2000. This portion of land was not located on a public road. Accordingly, Luhn included in the sale of property an easement from the Lindsays’ property to F.M. Road 2502. The easement is roughly 30 feet wide and *279 1,800 feet long. The language granting the express easement provides:

There is hereby granted and conveyed to the Grantee, their heirs and assigns, a non-exclusive perpetual right-of-way and easement for the purpose of maintaining and keeping in repair a roadway and for the use, liberty, privilege and easement of passing and repassing in common with Grantor, his heirs and assigns, and others, over and across the following described tract of land.

Luhn sold the remainder of his property to a third-party, who then sold a portion of that property to the Reaveses in 2005. The land subject to the easement is part of the property bought by the Reaveses. The easement does not divide the Reaves-es’ property. Instead, it runs along the northwestern border of the Reaveses’ property.

The Lindsays’ property is fenced with a gate providing access to the easement. In 2006, the Reaveses sought to fence their property including either (1) installing a gate where the easement abutted F.M. Road 2502 or (2) installing a cattle guard where the easement abutted F.M. Road 2502 and installing a gate to the side of the cattle guard to allow passage of horses and pedestrians. The purpose of the fence and the proposed gates and cattle guard was to allow the Reaveses to raise cattle on their property. The Lindsays protested both options, insisting that the easement entitled them to access to F.M. Road 2502 without any gates or cattle guards.

The Lindsays brought suit seeking in-junctive relief and declaratory action to prevent the installation of any gates or cattle guards anywhere along the easement. The Reaveses brought a counterclaim seeking declaratory action to establish their right to install gates and cattle guards along the easement. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. On February 3, 2009, the trial court granted the Lindsays’ motion and denied the Reaveses’ motion, ruling that the easement must be free of any gates or cattle guards. The Reaveses appealed.

Summary Judgment

In their first two points of error, the Reaveses argue that the trial court erred by ruling that, as a matter of law, they were prevented from installing gates or cattle guards on the easement. Alternatively, the Reaveses argue that the issue of whether installing gates or cattle guards would unreasonably interfere with the use of the easement is a question of fact that cannot be resolved by summary judgment. In a cross-point, the Lindsays argue that the Reaveses do not own an interest in the land that is controlled by the easement.

A. Standard of Review

We review a trial court’s granting of a summary judgments de novo. Provident Life and Accident Ins. Co. v. Knott, 128 S.W.3d 211, 215 (Tex.2003). Summary judgment is properly granted only when a movant establishes that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(c). As must the trial court, we must indulge every reasonable inference in favor of the non-movant, take all evidence favorable to the non-movant as true, and resolve any doubts in favor of the non-movant. Valence Operating Co. v. Dorsett, 164 S.W.3d 656, 661 (Tex.2005). When an order granting summary judgment does not specify the grounds upon which the trial court ruled, we must affirm if any of the summary judgment grounds is meritorious. Star-Telegram, Inc. v. Doe, 915 S.W.2d 471, 473 (Tex.1995).

Each party must carry its own burden, however, both as movant and in response to the other party’s motion, as non- *280 movant. State v. Japage P’ship, 80 S.W.3d 618, 620 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2002, pet. denied) (citing CU Lloyd’s v. Feldman, 977 S.W.2d 568, 569 (Tex.1998)). When, as here, both parties file motions for summary judgment and the trial court grants one motion and denies the other, we determine all presented questions and may render a different judgment if appropriate. SAS Inst., Inc. v. Breitenfeld, 167 S.W.3d 840, 841 (Tex.2005); CU Lloyd’s, 977 S.W.2d at 569.

B. Scope of the easement

In their motion for summary judgment, the Lindsays presented four grounds for the trial court to determine that the Reaveses could not install gates or cattle guards on the easement: (1) the Reaveses did not own the property subject to the easement; (2) the express easement prevented the Reaveses from installing gates or cattle guards; (3) an implied easement prevented the Reaveses from installing gates or cattle guards; and (4) no gates or cattle guards had been erected since the creation of the easement. In its judgment, the trial court determined that the Reaves-es did own the property that was subject to the easement but did not indicate which of the remaining three arguments it was relying on to determine that no gates or cattle guards could be installed on the easement. We must affirm if any of the grounds not expressly rejected by the trial court is meritorious. Star-Telegram, 915 S.W.2d at 473.

1. Express Easement

The first ground the Lindsays presented to the trial court for granting summary judgment was that the express easement requires the road to be unobstructed. The language that created the easement held by the Lindsays provides:

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
326 S.W.3d 276, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 6092, 2010 WL 2991092, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reaves-v-lindsay-texapp-2010.