Ettinger v. Pomeroy Limited Partnership

Petitioners Thomas and Margaret Ettinger, and Ettinger Family Holdings, Inc., appealed a Superior Court order denying their summary judgment motion and granting summary judgment to respondents Pomeroy Limited Partnership and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), on the petitioners’ petition for declaratory judgment. The parties owned real property on or around Silver Lake in Madison. The Ettingers owned the servient estate identified on Madison Tax Map 121 as Lot 4; the original dominant estate, Lot 160, was separated from Lot 4 by lots owned parties not named in this litigation. There was no dispute that Lot 160 had an easement to use "Winter Road Extension." In 2010, Pomeroy Limited conveyed 31.63 acres of its property to TNC. The conveyance included land that comprised most of Lot 161 and a portion of Lot 160. Pomeroy Limited retained a 7.4-acre parcel that included the physical terminus of Winter Road Extension. The deed to TNC conveyed the "right of way over Winter Road Extension" and a "right of way over the remaining land of [Pomeroy Limited]." The deed to TNC also stated that the 31.63 acres conveyed are "not to be considered a separate lot of record," but were to "merge with the abutting land of [TNC]." The reference to "the abutting land" owned by TNC referred to TNC's nature preserve, known as Ossipee Pine Barrens Preserve. Following the conveyance, the Ettingers filed suit claiming the easement conveyed to TNC could benefit only Lot 160, and could not benefit Lot 161 or any of the rest of TNC's land with which Lots 160 and 161 have merged. The issue presented to the Supreme Court in this case was the interpretation of the deeds in Lot 160's chain of title. After review, the Court was unable to rely upon the language of the language of the 1930 deed that created the Winter Road Extension easement. The Court found that language was ambiguous. To the extent that the trial court relied solely upon the language of the 1930 deed to determine the intent of the parties creating the easement, it erred. Accordingly, the Supreme Court reversed the trial court's order and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Ettinger v. Pomeroy Limited Partnership" on Justia Law