Gruca, R. v. Clearbrook Community ( 2022 )

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2022 PA Super 209RICHARD GRUCA AND CONSTANCE : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF
HORNICK-GRUCA : PENNSYLVANIA
:
:
v. :
:
:
CLEARBROOK COMMUNITY :
SERVICES ASSOCIATION, INC. : No. 64 WDA 2022
:
Appellant :
Appeal from the Judgment Entered March 11, 2022
In the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County Civil Division at No(s):
No. 18-11135
BEFORE: OLSON, J., DUBOW, J., and COLINS, J.*
OPINION BY DUBOW, J.: FILED: December 7, 2022
Appellant Clearbrook Community Services Association appeals from the
judgment entered by the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County in this quiet
title action. The trial court concluded that Appellees Richard Gruca and
Constance Hornick-Gruca acquired title to the contested property by adverse
possession. After review, we affirm.
In December 2018, Appellees filed a Complaint to Quiet Title to a parcel
of land in Cranberry Township, Butler County (“Contested Property”). The
Contested Property consists of approximately one acre of land that was part
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* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.
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of a 900,000 square foot parcel owned by Appellant.1 The Contested Property
sits directly behind property that Appellees own (“Appellees’ Property”).
Before 1973, the Contested Property “was largely unimproved and left
in a state wherein trees, shrubs, and other ground cover were allowed to grow
naturally.”2 Beginning in 1973, Appellees “mowed, cleared brush, and
removed fallen trees from [the Contested Property].”3 Appellees also “set up
at least two storage sheds, and maintained recreational furniture and
equipment, including a swing set and picnic table, on the [Contested
Property].”4 In other words, during the relevant time period, Appellees have
“kept the [Contested Property] trimmed, mowed, [and] landscaped.”5
Moreover, Appellees modified the Contested Property in a way that
differentiated it from the property surrounding it.6
After a non-jury trial, the trial court concluded that Appellees met their
burden of demonstrating each element of adverse possession. Addressing the
element of actual possession, the court rejected Appellant’s argument that the
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1 900,000 square feet is approximately 20.7 acres.
2 Tr. Ct. Op., 9/29/21, at Finding of Fact (“FF”) No. 10.
3 Id. at FF No. 12.
4 Id. at FF No. 13.
5 Id. at FF No. 18
6 Id. at FF No. 20
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Contested Property constituted a “woodland,” which would have required
Appellees to prove that they either resided upon or cultivated the Contested
Property. Instead, the court applied the general standard for actual
possession, which required proof that Appellees “maintained dominion over”
the Contested Property.7 The court found that Appellees met this lower
standard by maintaining the Contested Property in a “manicured, lawn-like
state.”8
The trial court next held that Appellees’ possession was “visible and
notorious” as their use of the land “was obvious enough to place a reasonable
onlooker on notice that the disputed parcel was being held by the [Appellees]
as their own.”9 Noting that Appellees possessed the land to the exclusion of
others, the court held that their use was distinct and exclusive. It found
Appellees’ regular maintenance of the property to be continuous since 1973,
which exceeded the requisite twenty-one years. Finally, the court concluded
that their possession was hostile in that Appellees maintained the property as
their own, despite knowing that they did not own it. Thus, the court granted
title of the Contested Property to Appellees by adverse possession.
Appellant filed a post-trial motion, asking the court to modify two of its
holdings to the following: (1) that the land was “woodland,” which would
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7 Tr. Ct. Op., 9/29/21, at Conclusion of Law (“CL”) No. 18.
8 Id.9 Id. at CL No. 19.
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require Appellees to demonstrate the higher standard of proof for actual
possession and (2) that Appellees’ possession was not visible and notorious.
Appellant concluded that either modification would require the trial court to
enter judgment in favor of Appellant.
After argument, the trial court denied Appellant’s post trial motion.
Addressing Appellant’s first issue, the court reiterated its holding that the
Contested Property was not “woodland.” The court explained that “[i]t was
never a finding of this Court that the parcel in dispute was ever, in the relevant
period of time for this proceeding, classified as ‘woodland.’”10 To clarify this
holding, the court modified Conclusion of Law No. 17, by reiterating that
Appellees had maintained the Contested Property in a manner so that trees,
shrubs and other ground cover could not grow naturally:
Due to the improvements made by [Appellees], the
disputed parcel has been maintained so as not to appear in
a naturalistic state wherein trees, shrubs, and other
ground cover were allowed to grow naturally. Thus,
[Appellees] maintained the parcel in dispute in a visible and
notorious way that would provide notice to a reasonable
landowner.
Tr. Ct. Op., 12/14/21, at 3 (citation omitted)(emphasis added).
The court characterized this modification as a permissible correction of
“a clerical error[,]” pursuant to the court’s authority to make non-substantive
modifications, citing 42 Pa.C.S. § 5505 and Pa.R.A.P. 1701(b)(1).11
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10 Tr. Ct. Op., 12/14/21, at 3.
11 Tr. Ct. Op., 12/14/21, at 2-3.
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The court additionally rejected Appellant’s second claim of error,
reiterating its prior conclusion that Appellees’ activities were visible and
notorious, such that Appellees established title to the Contested Property by
adverse possession.
Appellant filed its Notice of Appeal on January 13, 2022.12 Appellant
and the trial court complied with Pa.R.A.P. 1925. Appellant presents the
following questions for review, which we have revised for brevity and
reordered for ease of disposition:
1. Did the trial court err when it amended/modified Conclusion of
Law No. 17?
2. Did the trial court err in its analysis that the disputed parcel of
land at issue is not unenclosed woodland?
3. Did the trial court err in determining that Appellees met the
visible and notorious elements of adverse possession?
Appellant’s Br. at 4-5.
In non-jury actions, our review is limited to considering “whether the
trial court's verdict is supported by competent evidence in the record and is
free from legal error.” Recreation Land Corp. v. Hartzfeld, 947 A.2d 771,
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12 While Appellant purported to appeal from the December 14, 2021 Order
denying its post-trial motion, this order was interlocutory as judgment had not
been entered. Prime Medica Assocs. v. Valley Forge Ins. Co., 970 A.2d
1149, 1154 n.6 (Pa. Super. 2009) (finding denials of post-trial motions to be
“interlocutory and generally not appealable”). Following preliminary review
by this Court, the trial court entered judgment on March 11, 2022. Thus,
while the notice of appeal is technically premature as Appellant filed it prior to
the entry of judgment, we deem it timely. Id. (applying Pa.R.A.P. 905(a)(5)
and treating premature notices of appeal as “relat[ing] forward to . . . the date
judgment was entered and copies of the judgment were distributed to all the
appropriate parties”).
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774 (Pa. Super. 2008) (citation omitted). We review discretionary questions
for abuse of discretion and apply a de novo standard of review to questions of
law. Id. “[W]e give great deference to the factual findings of the trial court.”
Id.I.
Appellant’s first question challenges the trial court’s authority to modify
Conclusion of Law No. 17 in adjudicating Appellant’s Motion for Post-Trial
Relief. Rule 227.1, which governs the trial court’s authority when considering
post-trial motions, explicitly provides, “[a]fter trial and upon the written
Motion for Post-Trial Relief filed by any party, the court may[, inter alia,]
affirm, modify or change the decision[.] Pa.R.Civ.P. 227.1(a)(4)
(emphasis added). “[T]he underlying purpose of [Rule 227.1] is to allow the
trial court to reconsider its determination and to make any corrections before
it is appealed . . . .” Pa.R.Civ.P. 227.1 cmt. (emphasis added); see also
Newman Dev. Grp. of Pottstown, LLC v. Genuardi's Family Markets,
Inc., 52 A.3d 1233, 1248 n.7 (Pa. 2012).
Appellant argues that the trial court erred in modifying Conclusion of
Law No. 17 because it constituted a substantive change rather than merely
the correction of a clerical error, which it views as violative of 42 Pa.C.S.
§ 5505 and Pa.R.A.P. 1701(b)(1). It contends that the modification of
Conclusion of Law No. 17 was substantive because it resulted in the trial court
declining to characterize the property as “woodland” and therefore applying
the incorrect standard for actual possession.
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Conclusion of Law No. 17 originally provided that “Due to the
improvements made by [Appellees], the disputed parcel has not been
woodland since the early 1970’s.” Tr. Ct. Op., 9/29/21, at CL No. 17. After
reviewing Appellant’s Post-Trial Motion, the trial court expanded on this
conclusion by highlighting Appellees’ efforts so that trees, shrubs, and other
ground cover no longer grow on the Contested Property and the Contested
Property is no longer in a naturalistic state:
Due to the improvements made by [Appellees], the
disputed parcel has been maintained so as not to appear in
a naturalistic state wherein trees, shrubs, and other
ground cover were allowed to grow naturally. Thus,
[Appellees] maintained the parcel in dispute in a visible and
notorious way that would provide notice to a reasonable
landowner.
Tr. Ct. Op., 12/14/21, at 3.
Although we agree with Appellant that the trial court did not make a
clerical change when it clarified Conclusion of Law No. 17, we disagree with
Appellant’s conclusion that the trial court lacked the authority to do so. The
trial court was within its authority to clarify its holding in Conclusion of Law
No. 17 pursuant to Pa.R.Civ.P. 227.1. Rule 227 expressly provides a trial
court with broad authority in addressing post-trial motions. As relevant to
this case, a court may “modify or change” its decision without qualification
as to the significance of the change. Pa.R.Civ.P. 227.1(a)(4) (emphasis
added). Indeed, other subsections of Rule 227 permit a court far greater
authority to “order a new trial” or enter “judgment in favor of any party.”
Pa.R.Civ.P. 227.1(a)(1), (2). Given its authority to “make any corrections”
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before a case is appealed, we conclude that the trial court acted within its
discretion in modifying one of its twenty-two conclusions of law. Pa.R.Civ.P.
227.1 cmt.13
II.
Appellant’s remaining issues challenge the trial court’s conclusion that
Appellees established title by adverse possession. “Adverse possession is an
extraordinary doctrine which permits one to achieve ownership of another's
property by operation of law.” Recreation Land Corp., 947 A.2d at 774
(citation omitted). Claimants seeking to assert title by adverse possession
have the burden to show each of the following elements: “actual, continuous,
exclusive, visible, notorious, distinct and hostile possession of the land for
twenty-one years.” Id. (citation omitted). They must demonstrate each
element by “credible, clear[,] and definitive proof.” Johnson v. Tele-Media
Co. of McKean Cnty., 90 A.3d 736, 741 (Pa. Super. 2014).
In this case, Appellant challenges the trial court’s assessment of the first
element of adverse possession—actual possession—and specifically argues
that the trial court should have applied the higher level of proof of actual
possession applicable to “woodland.” While actual possession generally
requires demonstration of a claimant’s “dominion over the property[,]” actual
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13While the trial court in its Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) Opinion expressed its belief
that Pa.R.A.P. 1701 or Section 5505 provided it with the authority to clarify
Conclusion No. 17, we find that it is Pa.R.Civ.P. 227.1 that provided the trial
court with this authority. Since we can affirm the trial court on any basis, this
misconception does not affect our holding.
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possession of “woodland” requires proof of the claimant’s residence upon or
cultivation of the land. Recreation Land Corp., 947 A.2d at 774 (citation
omitted). The determination of whether property is “woodland” is a “threshold
factual question for the trial court to decide in the first instance.” Id.
Most important to our analysis is the definition of “woodland.” This
Court recently defined the term “woodland” as “an area of land that trees
and bushy undergrowth cover, synonymous with a ‘forest.’” Williams
v. Taylor, 188 A.3d 447, 454 (Pa. Super. 2018)(emphasis added).14 In
adopting the definition, this Court relied on prior cases involving large tracts
of heavily forested land.
Although the court in Williams defined “woodland” for purposes of a
prescriptive easement, the definition also applies to adverse possession, given
the similarities between the legal concepts, which both involve claimants
seeking to obtain an interest in a property by adversely possessing it. The
“chief distinction” between these two legal concepts is that adverse possession
involves the claimant’s possession of the property of the fee owner while
prescriptive easements involve the claimant’s easement-like use of the
property. Newell Rod & Gun Club, Inc. v. Bauer, 597 A.2d 667, 669 (Pa.
Super. 1991); see also Soderberg v. Weisel, 687 A.2d 839, 843 (Pa. Super.
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14 In Williams, this Court considered the term “woodland” in the context of a
prescriptive easement and the 1850 Unenclosed Woodland Act, 68 P.S. § 411.
This provision forbids “the acquisition of prescriptive easements through
unenclosed woodlands.” Williams, 188 A.3d at 451. For the reasons
discussed infra, the definition also applies to the acquisition of the property
itself through adverse possession.
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1997) (distinguishing prescriptive easements from adverse possession by
observing that “an adverse possessor acquires the land in fee, whereas the
prescriptive easement holder is only entitled to an easement-like use”). We,
therefore, conclude that the definition of “woodland” adopted for prescriptive
easements in Williams applies equally to adverse possession, given the
underlying similarities of these legal theories.
In this case, the trial court concluded that the Contested Property was
not “woodland.” The trial court based this conclusion on the findings that
since 1973, Appellees have “mowed, cleared brush, and removed fallen trees”
from the Contested Property and have “set up at least two storage sheds, and
maintained recreational furniture and equipment, including a swing set and
picnic table” on the Contested Property. Tr. Ct. Op., 9/29/21, at FF Nos. 12
and 13. The trial court further found that since 1973, Appellees have
“trimmed, mowed[, and] landscaped” the Contested Property. Id. at FF No.
18.
We agree that the trial court correctly concluded that the Contested
Property is not “woodland.” The record supports the conclusion that the
Contested Property is not “an area of land that trees and bushy undergrowth
cover, synonymous with a ‘forest.’” Williams, 188 A.3d at 454. Rather, the
condition of the Contested Property is that of a manicured lawn that Appellants
“trimmed, mowed[, and] landscaped.” Tr. Ct. Op., 9/29/21, at FF No. 18.
A.
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Appellant specifically argues that the trial erred “because Pennsylvania
Courts have never set a minimal size requirement for unenclosed woodland
and therefore, the trial court should be reversed.” Appellant’s Br. at 15.
Appellant premises this argument on the contention that the trial court
determined that the Contested Property was not “woodland” based solely on
the size of the property and not the characteristics of the Contested Property.
In reaching this conclusion, Appellant is “cherry picking” the trial court’s
Findings of Fact. Notably, the court did not rely solely on the parcel’s size in
concluding that the Contested Property did not meet the definition of a
“woodland.” Rather, the trial court emphasized the Contested Property’s
general characteristic as a manicured lawn that Appellants “trimmed, mowed[,
and] landscaped.” Tr. Ct. Op., 9/29/21, at FF No. 18.
Moreover, while Pennsylvania courts have not imposed a minimum size
requirement for “woodland,” our research has not revealed any case
prohibiting consideration of a property’s size as one factor. Indeed, this Court
has regularly noted the acreage of a property in adverse possession cases
involving “woodlands.” See, e.g., Seven Springs Farm, Inc. v. King, 344
A.2d 641, 644-45 (Pa. Super. 1975) (observing the “considerable size” of the
32.25-acre tract).15
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15 Appellant relies upon Recreation Land Corp. and Piston v. Hughes, 62
A.3d 440 (Pa. Super. 2013), to support its argument that the trial court erred
in only considering the size of the Contested Property. Since the trial court
considered other factors, the premise of Appellant’s argument is erroneous
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B.
Appellant further challenges the trial court’s conclusion that the
Contested Property is not “woodland” by arguing that the trial court’s findings
support the contrary conclusion, i.e., that the Contested Property is a
“woodland.” In particular, Appellant argues that the following facts support
the conclusion that the Contested Property is “woodland”:
1. The 900,000 square foot parcel that surrounds the Contested
Property “is left in a naturalistic state to serve as a buffer.”
2. Before Appellees cut down trees and made improvements to
the Contested Property, the “condition of the disputed parcel
was largely unimproved and left in a state wherein trees,
shrubs and other ground cover were allowed to grow naturally.”
3. The trial court found that the “disputed one (1) acre was a
wooded area.”
Appellant’s Br. at 15-16 (citing Tr. Ct. Op., 9/29/21, at FF Nos. 8, 10, 19).
Appellant, however, is either ignoring the definition of “woodland” or
misconstruing the trial court’s findings.
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and these cases are of limited value to Appellant’s arguments. We note,
however, that the Superior Court in Recreation Land Corp. affirmed the trial
court’s determination that the disputed property was “woodland” because the
“disputed property has an extensively wooded character and is unenclosed.”
Recreation Land Corp., 947 A.2d at 774. In Piston, the Superior Court
found that Appellants waived their challenge to the trial court’s finding that
the disputed property met the definition of a “woodland,” and thus, this case
is of no precedential value. Piston, 62 A.3d at 444 (citation omitted).
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First, there is no legal authority to support Appellant’s argument that
the land surrounding the disputed property is dispositive of whether a disputed
property meets the definition of “woodland.” In fact, the Superior Court in
Recreation Land Corp. found that the surrounding area around a disputed
parcel “is irrelevant to the issue of whether the particular disputed parcel at
issue is woodland.” Recreation Land Corp., 947 A.2d at 775 n.2. Thus, the
trial court’s characterization of the surrounding 900,000-square foot parcel as
unimproved land is irrelevant to the trial court’s determination that the
Contested Property is not “woodland.”
Appellant further argues that because the Contested Property before
1973 was “woodland,” the trial court erred in not finding that it has not been
a “woodland” since 1973. Once again, Appellant provides no legal support for
this argument that once a property is “woodland” it is always “woodland.” The
applicable time frame to evaluate the character of the disputed property to
determine if it is “woodland” is the previous twenty-one years; not the time
period before the claimant is claiming that it adversely possessed the disputed
property.
Appellant’s final argument misconstrues the trial court’s finding of fact.
Appellant argues that in Finding of Fact No. 19, the “trial court found that the
disputed one (1) acre was a wooded area.” Appellant’s Br. at 16(emphasis
added). Although Finding of Fact No. 19 provides that the disputed one acre
was a wooded area, the trial court also found in the same Finding of Fact that
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Appellants converted the Contested Property to be part of an owner’s yard.
Finding of Fact No. 19 provides in its entirety:
[Appellants] possessed and maintained the disputed property as any
reasonable owner of a wooded area that was converted to be part of
an owner’s yard would do.
Tr. Ct. Op., 9/29/21, at FF No. 19 (emphasis added). Appellant’s argument
cherry picks the term “wooded area” and ignores the finding that Appellees
converted the Contested Property to “an owner’s yard.”
C.
Finally, Appellant analogizes the facts of this case to the facts of
Recreation Land Corp, where the Superior Court found the disputed
property to be “woodland.” Appellant’s Br. at 19. The facts in Recreation
Land Corp. are distinguishable from the facts in this case. In Recreation
Land Corp., the Superior Court found that “the disputed property has an
extensively wooded character, and is unenclosed.” 947 A.2d at 774. In this
case, the trial court found, and the record supports the finding, that the
Contested Property was a manicured and landscaped lawn. Tr. Ct. Op.,
9/29/21, at FF Nos. 12, 13, and 18 and CL No. 18.
The other case that Appellant relies upon is also distinguishable. In
Seven Springs Farm, Inc., 344 A.2d at 644, the Superior Court focused on
whether the claimant had “actual possession” of the disputed property, not
whether the disputed property met the definition of “woodland.” To the extent
the Superior Court referred to the disputed property as woodland, the
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character of the disputed property differed significantly from the Contested
Property. The Superior Court found that “the land was no longer cultivated
and the barbed-wire fence that had been put up along one side of the property
had gone unmaintained for 14 years and was in a bad state of disrepair with
many openings in it.” Seven Springs Farm, Inc., 344 A.2d at 644. This is
significantly different from the Contested Property whose character was that
Appellees maintained in a lawn-like state. Tr. Ct. Op., 9/29/21, at FF Nos. 12,
13, and 18 and CL No. 18.16
D.
Upon review of the record, we conclude that the record supports the
trial court’s conclusion that Contested Property was not “woodland.” It is
beyond cavil that a property that is manicured and landscaped and maintained
in a lawn-like state is not “woodland,” because such character differs
significantly from “an area of land that trees and bushy undergrowth cover,
synonymous with a ‘forest.’” Williams, 188 A.3d at 454. Accordingly, we
conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to impose
the higher standard of proof for actual possession.
E.
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16In light of the fact that the trial court correctly found that the Contested
Property is not ”woodland,” we need not address Appellant’s arguments that
Appellees failed to meet the higher standard for ”actual possession” for
woodland.
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Appellant’s final issue challenges the trial court’s conclusion that
Appellees’ possession of the Contested Property was visible and notorious.
Visible and notorious possession requires “conduct sufficient to place a
reasonable person on notice that his or her land is being held by the claimant
as his own.” Brennan v. Manchester Crossings, Inc., 708 A.2d 815, 818
(Pa. Super. 1998).
Appellant asserts that Appellees’ possession was not visible and
notorious because Appellant’s view of the Contested Property was shielded by
foliage during the spring and summer months when Appellees primarily used
the property. It posits that “if invisible use were enough to establish
possession, no owner, especially an owner of unenclosed woodland would be
safe from the claims of strangers on the owner’s property.” Appellant’s Br. at
27 (citing Seven Springs Farm, Inc., 344 A.2d at 646).
In denying Appellant’s post-trial motion, the trial court reiterated that
Appellees kept the “land trimmed, mo[w]ed, landscaped, and have maintained
upon it[,] in a visible and open manner[,] storage buildings and recreational
equipment, including a swing set, picnic table, and sandbox.” Tr. Ct. Op.,
12/14/21, at 5 (quoting Tr. Ct. Op., 9/29/21, at FF No. 18). The court
concluded that these actions constituted visible and notorious possession
because a reasonable person would have been on notice that Appellees were
using the Contested Property as their own. The court observed that
Pennsylvania courts have found the maintenance of property as a lawn to be
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sufficient to demonstrate adverse possession. Id. at 4-5 (citing Brennan,
708 A.2d at 821).
We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by finding
that Appellees’ possession was visible and notorious. The record supports the
court’s finding that Appellees’ maintenance of the nearly one-acre Contested
Property in a lawn-like state should have placed Appellant on notice,
regardless of whether the foliage in the spring and summer prevented
Appellant from witnessing Appellees actively maintaining or using the property
for recreation. Indeed, Appellant even acknowledged that in 2016 or 2017 it
became aware of Appellees’ use of the land and posted no trespassing signs.17
Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s grant of title of the Contested Property
to Appellees.
Judgment affirmed.
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17 Appellant’s Written Opening Statement, 8/24/21, at 5-6 (asserting that
Appellant posted no trespassing signs in 2016). The trial court found that the
signs were placed in 2017. Tr. Ct. Op., 9/29/21, at FF No. 16. This distinction
is not relevant to the issues at bar.
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Judgment Entered.
Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
Prothonotary
Date: 12/7/2022
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