Utah Department of Transportation v. Boggess-Draper Co.

2016 UT App 93, 373 P.3d 210, 812 Utah Adv. Rep. 29, 2016 Utah App. LEXIS 94, 2016 WL 2610008
CourtCourt of Appeals of Utah
DecidedMay 5, 2016
Docket20140650-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2016 UT App 93 (Utah Department of Transportation v. Boggess-Draper Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Utah Department of Transportation v. Boggess-Draper Co., 2016 UT App 93, 373 P.3d 210, 812 Utah Adv. Rep. 29, 2016 Utah App. LEXIS 94, 2016 WL 2610008 (Utah Ct. App. 2016).

Opinions

Opinion

BENCH, Senior Judge:

T1 Boggess-Draper Company LLC appeals the district court's grant of the Utah Department of Transportation's (UDOT) motion in limine to exclude Boggess-Draper's evidence regarding severance damages in a condemnation proceeding. We reverse the district court's ruling and remand for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

1 2 Boggess—Draper'owns several parcels of real property in South Jordan, Utah. In 2001, UDOT sought to condemn a portion of Boggess-Draper's property to expand the intersection of Lone Péak Parkway (which runs north to south) and 11400 South Street (which runs east to west). In 2005, as part of that condemnation proceeding, the' district court entered a final judgment (the 2005 Final Judgment) pursuant to an agreement between Boggess-Draper and UDOT, The 2005 Final Judgment states, in relevant part,

To enable [UDOT] to construct and maintain a public highway as a freeway, as contemplated by Title 72, Chapter 6, Section 117, Utah Code Annotated, 1998, as amended, the Owners of said entire tract of property hereby release and relinquish to said [UDOT] any and all rights appurtenant to the remaining property of said Owners by reason of the location thereof with reference to said highway, including, without limiting the foregoing, all rights of ingress to or egress from said Owner's remaining property contiguous to the lands hereby conveyed to or from said highway between said des1gnated Point" "A" and Point "B."

T8 Subsequently, in 2010, UDOT filed a condemnation action against another portion of Boggess-Draper's property,. In its amended complaint, UDOT stated that it intended to condemn certain portions of Bog-gess-Draper's South Jordan property adjacent to 11400 South Street on the west side of Lone Peak Parkway (the Subject Property) for the widening and reconstruction of 11400 South Street. UDOT further stated that it "is not condemning or acquiring in this action the right of reasonable access to said larger tract of property, nor any right of reasonable ingress and egress to said larger tract of property."

€4 In 2012, Boggess-Draper designated an expert witness to offer opinions on the value of UDOT's taking, including severance damages. - The expert concluded that UDOT's taking caused a loss of access, view, and exposure to the remainder of the Subject Property and that it resulted in severance damages.

15 Thereafter, in 2018, UDOT changed tack and filed a motion in limine to exclude all of Boggess-Draper's evidence relating to severance damages at trial because "UDOT [had] previously acquired all rights appurtenant to [the Subject Property] from Defendant Boggess-Draper." It argued that "[hlaving previously acquired those rights, and having already paid for them, UDOT [212]*212should not now face severance damage claims relating to rights that Boggess-Draper does not own." In making this argument, UDOT relied on language from the 2005 Final Judgment awarding UDOT "all rights appurtenant to the remaining property of said Owners by reason of the location thereof with reference to said highway." According to UDOT, Boggess-Draper could not show that it owned a "protectable property interest that is related in any way to the types of severance damages being asserted by its expert appraiser" because Boggess-Draper had already conveyed to UDOT all rights appurtenant to the Subject Property in the 2005 Final Judgment.

16 Boggess-Draper opposed UDOT's motion, arguing that in the 2005 Final Judgment, "Boggess-Draper did not convey to UDOT all rights appurtenant to the [Subject] Property." - Boggess-Draper also asserted that UDOT had "forfeited its argument that Boggess-Draper previously conveyed all rights appurtenant to the [Subject Property] by failing to raise the issue at the outset of this litigation."

T7 On December 28, 2018, the district court held a hearing on UDOT's motion and heard arguments regarding the meaning of the 2005 Final Judgment and the proper interpretation of the parties' agreement. During the hearing, Boggess-Draper argued that there was an ambiguity "as to what the parties intended with [the] language" "all rights appurtenant to the remaining property of said Owners by reason of the location thereof with reference to said highway" because at the time of the 2005 Final Judgment, 11400 South Street "was not a state highway west of Lone Peak Parkway. [It] was a city-owned road." In support of its argument, Boggess-Draper directed the district court's attention to several pieces of extrinsic evidence, including (1) a declaration from the attorney who negotiated the 2005 Final Judgment on Boggess-Draper's behalf regarding the parties' intent in stipulating to the 2005 Final Judgment, (2) a schematic drawing and the complaint from the 2001 condemnation action, and (3) a summary of the approved appraisal amount for the property taken in the 2001 condemnation action. Boggess-Draper also argued that it should be allowed to conduct additional discovery regarding the parties' intent and that the district court was "required to look at the parol evidence" "to determine whether there is or isn't an ambiguity."

T8 UDOT, on the other hand, argued that when read as a whole, there was no ambiguity in the 2005 Final Judgment, that the district court was required to accept additional evidence only "if the Court finds an ambiguity that requires the intent of the parties to be explored," and that "there's not an ambiguity that would require that type of discovery." The district court concluded, "I think I have to look at [parol evidence] after I determine if there's an ambiguity. I don't think I look before I determine that.... If I look at this and determine by viewing it that it's not ambiguous, then I don't have to go there."

T9 On May 15, 2014, the district court entered its order granting UDOT's motion in limine. The court found that "Boggess-Draper's claims for severance damages [were] all based on claimed losses of rights appurtenant that were previously acquired by UDOT through the 2005 Final Judgment." The court further found that the 2005 Final Judgment was unambiguous because it "clearly provides that 'any and all rights appurtenant' of Boggess-Draper's property along 11400 South Street were transferred to UDOT." Because the court determined that "there is no ambiguity in the 2005 Final Judgment," it concluded that "it would be improper for the Court to consider any extrinsic evidence as to its meaning."

10 As to Boggess-Draper's forfeiture argument, the district court concluded "that an evidentiary motion filed more than two months before trial is timely" and that UDOT's motion in limine "was filed in accordance with the Court's Order during the October 11, 2018 Scheduling Conference, and is consistent with the purposes of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure and Utah Rules of Evidence." - Consequently, the district court overruled Boggess-Draper's objection to the timeliness of UDOT's motion in limine and granted UDOT's motion, ordering that Bog-gess-Draper, its witnesses, and its counsel [213]*213refrain from presenting any evidence relating to severance damages at trial.

{11 In lieu of a trial, the parties filed a stipulation resolving all remaining issues on June 17, 2014, and on June 24, the district court entered its final judgment of condemnation and satisfaction of judgment. Bog-gess-Draper timely appealed.

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Related

Northgate Village Development v. Orem City
2018 UT App 89 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2018)
Utah Department of Transportation v. Boggess-Draper Co.
2016 UT App 93 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2016 UT App 93, 373 P.3d 210, 812 Utah Adv. Rep. 29, 2016 Utah App. LEXIS 94, 2016 WL 2610008, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/utah-department-of-transportation-v-boggess-draper-co-utahctapp-2016.