Taylor v. Fuselier

915 So. 2d 1030, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 2305, 2005 WL 2863162
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 2, 2005
DocketNo. 2004-885
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 915 So. 2d 1030 (Taylor v. Fuselier) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Taylor v. Fuselier, 915 So. 2d 1030, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 2305, 2005 WL 2863162 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

THIBODEAUX, Chief Judge.

| Plaintiff-Appellant, Gloria Taylor, sought rescission of her agreement to purchase land from Defendant, Conley Fuselier, because she discovered after the sale that Mr. Fuselier had sold a portion of the property to the town of Oberlin before selling the lot to her. She argued she had been evicted from that portion of the lot. The trial court denied Ms. Taylor’s request for return of the purchase price of the property, finding that the portion from [1031]*1031which she had been evicted was insignificant in relation to the whole. We reverse the judgment of the trial court because, although the relative size of the portion sold to Oberlin compared to the entire lot may not be large, the significant location and use of that portion deprived Ms. Taylor of her full enjoyment of the property she believed she had purchased.

I.

ISSUE

We must consider whether the trial court was correct to award Ms. Taylor only a diminution of her purchase price, or whether she is entitled to full rescission of the purchase price of the property.

II.

FACTS

On October 2, 2002, Gloria Taylor signed a cash warranty deed for the purchase of a tract of land from Conley Fuselier in the town of Oberlin. The tract she purchased measured 150 feet by 100 feet. She specifically chose a corner lot, she testified, because she thought it would look better when she built a house on it, and believed a corner lot would ultimately have a higher resale value. Ms. Taylor stated 13that she told Mr. Fuselier her reasons for choosing the corner lot. Ms. Taylor installed a culvert, which cost $167.00, and planted trees, which cost $90.00.

After she planted the trees in January 2008, she noticed construction on part of her land, and called Mr. Fuselier to find out what was happening. She testified Mr. Fuselier told her that before he had sold her the lot, he had sold a 20 square foot portion of it to the Town of Oberlin to construct a sewerage pumping station. Ms. Taylor testified that, when completed, the sewerage pumping station included a seven-foot-high hurricane fence with barbed wire at the top, measuring ten by fifteen ■feet. Inside the fence, the pumping apparatus included a blinking red light. Ms. Taylor and her next door neighbor, Do-nette Taylor, both testified that the station was aesthetically unappealing and also caused a noisome odor.

Ms. Taylor filed a Petition to Rescind the Sale of Immovable Property. After a trial in March 2004, the court found that the section of land sold to Oberlin was inconsequential in relation to the whole and awarded Ms. Taylor a reduction in price of $266.00, plus an additional $300.00 to erect a privacy fence around the station. Ms. Taylor appeals the judgment of the trial court, arguing that the court erred in finding she was not entitled to rescission because the tract of land sold to the city was inconsequential in relation to the whole.

III.

LAW AND DISCUSSION

Mr. Fuselier claims that because there is no evidence contradicting Ms. Taylor’s clear title search, we cannot find that a prior sale occurred. He argues that Ms. Taylor’s parol evidence is insufficient to establish that a sale to Oberlin occurred and, if it occurred, that it was recorded. In general, a court may not rely on parol evidence to define an agreement regarding the sale of real property, as “[t]he Isdesignation of the sale should properly be based exclusively on the written act of sale.” Strange v. Kennard, 99-406, p. 4 (La.App. 1 Cir. 3/31/00), 763 So.2d 710, 712. Ms. Taylor, however, did not attack the validity of any purported sale to Oberlin, nor did she dispute any instrument transferring property from Mr. Fuselier to Oberlin. The issue, in other words, is not the contents of the agreement between Mr. Fuselier and Oberlin. Moreover, her [1032]*1032testimony that Mr. Fuselier admitted the prior sale of the portion of the lot to Oberlin went uncontradicted.

Mr. Fuselier further argues that because an instrument involving immovable property does not affect third parties until it has been recorded, and there is no record of the sale to Oberlin, Ms. Taylor’s rights in the property trump those of Oberlin to the property; therefore, she may rightfully evict the municipality of Oberlin. La.Civ.Code art. 1889; see also King v. Strohe 95-656 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/8/96), 673 So.2d 1329 (finding that agreements involving immovable property affect third parties only after they are filed for recordation and that they are a nullity as to third parties until that time). However, Mr. Fuselier’s attempt to deflect the legal conflict onto Oberlin does not extinguish Ms. Taylor’s ability to obtain rescission on grounds of eviction. Ms. Taylor had a title search performed at her request and her expense. The title search did not provide any information that would lead her to suspect that she was not purchasing the entire lot Mr. Fuselier offered for sale. Ms. Taylor was entitled to rely on the results of her title search. La.R.S. 9:2721; see also Mortgage Elec. Registration Sys., Inc. v. Bynum, 03-1671 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/14/04), 879 So.2d 807, writ denied, 04-1926 (La.11/15/04), 887 So.2d 479 (noting that a third party purchasing immovable property is entitled to rely on the absence from public records of any unrecorded interest in the property). Mr. Fuselier is correct that the lack of record of the sale does not adversely impact Ms. Taylor’s title |4to the property. Whether or not Ms. Taylor had the option of taking action against Oberlin does not alter Ms. Taylor’s claim based on eviction vis á vis Mr. Fuse-lier.

Louisiana Civil Code Article 2500 states in part that “[t]he seller warrants the buyer against eviction, which is the buyer’s loss of ... part of the thing sold because of a third person’s right that existed at the time of the sale.” However, La.Civ.Code art. 2521 states that “[t]he seller owes no warranty for defects in the thing that were known to the buyer at the time of the sale, or for defects that should have been discovered by a reasonably prudent buyer of such things.” Ms. Taylor testified that, at her request and expense, a deputy clerk in the clerk’s office performed a title search. The title search did not reveal the prior transfer of the property to Oberlin, leading Ms. Taylor to believe that she was purchasing the full 150 x 100 foot lot. Because Ms. Taylor was entitled to rely on the results of her title search, and had no reason to suspect the title to the property was not as it appeared to be, Mr. Fuselier continues to owe her the warranties contained in their contract.

Mr. Fuselier cites Collins v. Slocum, 284 So.2d 98, 100 (La.App. 3 Cir.1973), for its statement that “all persons have constructive notice of the existence and contents of recorded instruments affecting immovable property,” and then explains that a later case, Collins v. Slocum, 317 So.2d 672, 681 (La.App. 3 Cir.), writs denied, 321 So.2d 362, 363, 364 (La.1975) modified this statement by finding that “a title examination prior to purchase [does not] defeat[] the warranty action.” He argues that this is an unresolved point of law.

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915 So. 2d 1030, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 2305, 2005 WL 2863162, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/taylor-v-fuselier-lactapp-2005.