WAYMOND M. BROWN, Judge.
Bradley and Judy Perkins appeal from the Lonoke County Circuit Court's grant of summary judgment dismissing their petition to reform a warranty deed entered into in 2005 with appellees, Warren and Joyce Henry. We find that summary judgment was premature and reverse and remand for further proceedings.
In 2005, appellants Bradley and Judy Perkins purchased land from appellees, Warren and Joyce Henry, for the purpose of constructing a house. The land was part of an approximately sixty-five-acre
In July 2008, the Henrys filed for and were granted an injunction requiring the Perkinses to remove certain trees and a metal building from their property, based on provisions contained in paragraph 2 of the attachment. The specific provisions at issue in the injunction state. "No trees shall be planted or allowed to grow within seventy-five feet of the aircraft runway," and "All out buildings, unattached garages and other structures shall be constructed of material that is either brick or painted." The circuit court granted the petition and ordered removal of the trees and building. This court then reversed the circuit court, holding that the land-use restrictions were unenforceable due to the lack of a general plan of development.
On remand, the circuit court entered an order on September 1, 2010, finding that based on the Perkins I opinion, the land-use restrictions attached to the warranty deed were invalid and unenforceable. The order did not distinguish between the two provisions that were at issue in Perkins I and the rest of the provisions, rather, it merely stated, "[T]his Court hereby finds that the restrictions attached to [the] Warranty Deed ... are invalid and unenforceable." Neither party appealed from that order.
Subsequently, the Henrys informed the Perkinses that they would no longer be allowed to use the runway. The Perkinses filed a new action in the circuit court on September 13, 2010, asking the court to grant one of the following remedies: (1) reform the warranty deed based on mutual mistake because there was "no question that the intention of the parties was to grant the [Perkinses] the use of the runway easement"; (2) enter declaratory judgment declaring that the grant of the use of the runway to the Perkinses was a grant in rem that runs with the land, a license that had become irrevocable because the Perkinses had used the runway on a regular basis and had expended money and/or labor and materials to be able to use it; or (3) grant damages to the Perkinses for damages to the value of their property caused by the fraud, negligence,
The Henrys filed an answer and counterclaim on October 12, 2010, asking the circuit court to enter an order declaring that the Perkinses had no right to use the runway because the land-use restrictions attached to the deed had been declared invalid and unenforceable. On December 6, 2010, the Henrys filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that because the land-use restrictions had been declared invalid and unenforceable in their entirety, the Perkinses' petition was barred by res judicata. After a hearing on the motion, the circuit court granted the motion for summary judgment, holding that the Perkinses' action was barred by res judicata or claim preclusion. From that March 27, 2012 order, the Perkins filed a timely notice of appeal on April 13, 2012.
We determine if summary judgment was appropriate based on whether the evidentiary items presented by the moving party in support of the motion leave a material fact unanswered.
The doctrine of res judicata bars subsequent litigation of questions of law that were not litigated but could have been determined in the original litigation.
Below and on appeal, the Henrys argue that res judicata bars the Perkinses' claim
The Perkinses' September 13, 2010 petition concerns paragraph 10 of the attachment:
The petition then alleges that "[t]he use of the aircraft runway was the predominant factor in Plaintiffs' decision to purchase the real property and was a selling point used by Defendants in selling the property to Plaintiffs."
Prior to Perkins I, there was no controversy concerning the Perkinses' use of the runway. They paid the required fee and were allowed to use the runway as agreed at the time the land was conveyed. After Perkins I was handed down, however, the circuit court entered its order, which appears to hold that the attachment in its entirety is invalid and unenforceable, and following this ruling, the Henrys declined the Perkinses' runway-fee payment and told them they could no longer use the runway. The Perkinses then filed their petition asking the circuit court to reform the warranty deed due to mutual mistake, or alternatively, to enter a declaratory judgment that the grant of the use of the runway was an irrevocable license or to grant damages to the value of their property caused by fraud, negligence, and misrepresentation by the Henrys as to the use of the runway. These are entirely different claims and remedies from those sought in the original action, in which the Henrys petitioned for an injunction requiring the Perkinses to remove trees and a shed from their property.
Contrary to the Henrys' argument, the September 13, 2010 petition does not seek
Because there was no controversy concerning the use of the runway at the time of the first action, there was no reason for either party to have raised or litigated that issue at that time. Moreover, it was not necessary for the circuit court (or this court in Perkins I) to determine whether the warranty deed should be reformed due to mutual mistake, whether the grant of use of the runway could be revoked, or whether the Perkinses were entitled to damages if they were barred from using the runway. The test in determining whether res judicata applies is whether the matters presented in a subsequent suit were necessarily within the issues of the former suit and might have been litigated there.
The primary remedy sought by the Perkinses in the present case — reformation of the warranty deed — is an equitable remedy that is available when the parties have reached a complete agreement but, through mutual mistake, the terms of their agreement are not correctly reflected in the written instrument purporting to evidence the agreement.
Reversed and remanded.
PITTMAN and WYNNE, JJ., agree.