A&F Properties, LLC v. Madison County Bd. of Supervisors, et al.
| Docket Number: | 2004-CC-02302-SCT | |
| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 06-29-2006 Opinion Author: Randolph, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Real property - Contract - Premature decision - Res judicata Judge(s) Concurring: Smith, C.J., Waller and Cobb, P.JJ., Easley, Carlson and Graves, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Diaz, J. Concur in Part, Concur in Result 1: Dickinson, J., Concurs in Part Without Separate Written Opinion Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - REAL PROPERTY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 11-08-2004 Appealed from: Madison County Circuit Court Judge: William E. Chapman, III Disposition: AFP appealled the Board’s denial of its request to amend the Lake Caroline Master Plan. On October 25, 2004, the Opinion and Order of the Circuit Court of Madison County affirmed the Board’s denial of AFP’s request. Case Number: CI2004-0129-L |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | A&F Properties, LLC |
G. TODD BURWELL, WILLIAM LARRY LATHAM |
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| Appellee: | Madison County Board of Supervisors, Lake Caroline, Inc. and Lake Caroline Owner's Association | ROBERT RICHARD CIRILLI, JR., EDMUND L. BRUNINI, JR., THOMAS A. COOK, LISA MICHELE McCAIN, STEVEN H. SMITH |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Real property - Contract - Premature decision - Res judicata |
| Summary of the Facts: | On July 14, 1989, the Madison County Board of Supervisors adopted the petition of Lake Caroline, Inc. to have 3,047 acres of property rezoned from A-1 Agricultural Classification to P-1 Planned Unit Development District Classification. On September 27, 1995, Lake Caroline and A&F Properties, LLC entered into a contract wherein Lake Caroline agreed to sell 154 acres within the Lake Caroline Planned Unit Development to AFP for ten dollars. As additional consideration, AFP agreed to construct an eighteen hole semi-private golf course on the property. The contract provided that the property must be used and maintained as a golf course for ten years from December 31, 1996. Lake Caroline contractually agreed not to compete with AFP during that period. The contract also provided that if AFP should desire to sell the Golf Course during the first seven years, Lake Caroline would be given a right of first refusal to purchase the golf course. In 1995, Lake Caroline conveyed the property to AFP by warranty deed. In 1996, AFP developed the 154 acres as a golf course within the PUD. In 1998, the Board adopted a different Master Plan and declared that all future actions affecting development within the PUD must be in conformity with it. Unlike the 1989 Master Plan, the 1998 Master Plan illustrated a golf course as an amenity within the PUD. The 1998 Master Plan was prepared, filed, and adopted without the knowledge or involvement of AFP. In 2003, AFP advised the Board of its intention to convert the golf course into a residential subdivision. Madison County Zoning Administrator Brad Sellers sent a letter to AFP stating that the golf course is zoned as a PUD and any changes must be approved by the Board. After AFP filed a request with the Board, a public hearing was held by the Board. The Board unanimously voted to table AFP’s request and not reconsider the matter before November 2006. This action of the Board was not appealed. Despite the Board’s ruling, AFP re-filed its prior request on March 26, 2004, for a newly-constituted Board to hear and consider the proposed amendment. The newly constituted Board granted AFP’s public hearing request. The Board unanimously voted to deny AFP’s request to amend the Lake Caroline Master Plan. AFP appealed, and the circuit court affirmed the Board’s decision. AFP appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | The plain, unambiguous language of the Lake Caroline-AFP contract mandates that the property be maintained as a golf course until December 31, 2006. Prior to December 31, 2006, AFP is contractually bound to either maintain the property as a golf course or sell it to another who will maintain it as such. To require AFP to submit to the provisions of the contract which it freely entered into with Lake Caroline respects the plain language of the contract. The circuit court properly identified the prematurity issue. However, the circuit court failed to address the significance of the Board’s December 2003 ruling, which was not appealed. Res judicata or collateral estoppel precludes relitigation of administrative decisions. In failing to acknowledge that initial ruling of the Board, which effectively renders this action non-justiciable until after December 31, 2006, the circuit court’s prematurity analysis was incomplete. Only after December 31, 2006, when AFP’s contractual obligation to maintain the golf course expires, is AFP free to petition the Board regarding other uses for the property. |
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