Buford Knight v. Greene County, TN & Alan D. Broyles ( 2000 )

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
AT KNOXVILLE
FILED
February 24, 2000
Cecil Crowson, Jr.
Appellate Court Clerk
E1999-02445-COA-R3-CV
BUFORD KNIGHT and wife, ) C/A NO. 03A01-9905-CV-00169
ANNABELLE KNIGHT, )
)
Plaintiffs-Appellants,)
)
)
)
v. ) APPEAL AS OF RIGHT FROM THE
) GREENE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
)
)
GREENE COUNTY, TENNESSEE, and )
ALAN D. BROYLES, in his )
capacity as County Executive )
of Greene County, Tennessee, )
) HONORABLE JOHN K. WILSON,
Defendants-Appellees. ) JUDGE
For Appellants For Appellees
WILLIAMS E. PHILLIPS JEFFREY M. WARD
Phillips & Hale DANIEL D. COUGHLIN
Rogersville, Tennessee Milligan & Coleman
Greeneville, Tennessee
O P I N IO N
AFFIRMED AND REMANDED Susano, J.
1
This is an inverse condemnation action brought by
Buford Knight and Annabelle Knight against Greene County and Alan
D. Broyles, County Executive of Greene County (collectively “the
County”). The trial court granted the County summary judgment,
finding that the plaintiffs’ action was barred by the statute of
limitations.1 The plaintiffs appeal, arguing that the trial
court erred in granting summary judgment because their cause of
action was filed pursuant to the savings statute, T.C.A. § 28-1-
105,2 and thus is not barred by the statute of limitations.
I.
The facts pertinent to the issue before us are not in
dispute. In June, 1994, the County began construction of a road
on the subject property. The plaintiffs sued the County for
trespass on August 19, 1994, claiming that the road on which the
County was working was a private road that belonged to them. The
plaintiffs sought damages and injunctive relief. The County
answered by asserting that the plaintiffs had granted the County
1
The applicable statute of limitations is found at T.C.A. § 29-16-124
(1980), which provides as follows:
The owners of land shall, in such cases, commence
proceedings within twelve (12) months after the land
has been actually taken possession of, and the work of
the proposed internal improvement begun; saving,
however, to unknown owners and nonresidents, twelve
(12) months after actual knowledge of such occupation,
not exceeding three (3) years, and saving to persons
under the disabilities of infancy and unsoundness of
mind, twelve (12) months after such disability is
removed, but not exceeding ten (10) years.
2
T.C.A. § 28-1-105(a) (Supp. 1999) provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
If the action is commenced within the time limited by
a rule or statute of limitation, but the judgment or
decree is rendered against the plaintiff upon any
ground not concluding the plaintiff’s right of action,
or where the judgment or decree is rendered in favor
of the plaintiff, and is arrested, or reversed on
appeal, the plaintiff, or the plaintiff’s
representatives and privies, as the case may be, may,
from time to time, commence a new action within one
(1) year after the reversal or arrest.
2
an easement to use and maintain the road as a county road.
Following a bench trial, the trial court found that the disputed
roadway “is wholly upon the property of the plaintiffs and is a
private road.” However, the trial court dismissed the trespass
claim, holding that the plaintiffs’ sole recourse was a suit for
inverse condemnation. The trial court’s judgment was entered on
June 30, 1995. On July 27, 1995, the County filed a motion to
reconsider. The trial court denied this motion by order entered
December 21, 1995. The plaintiffs filed the present cause of
action for inverse condemnation on January 6, 1997.
II.
We review the trial court’s decision against the
standard of Rule 56.04, Tenn.R.Civ.P., which provides, in
pertinent part, as follows:
the judgment shall be rendered forthwith if
the pleadings, depositions, answers to
interrogatories, and admissions on file,
together with the affidavits, if any, show
that there is no genuine issue as to any
material fact and that the moving party is
entitled to a judgment as a matter of law....
When reviewing a grant of summary judgment, an appellate court
must decide anew if judgment in summary fashion is appropriate.
Cowden v. Sovran Bank/Central South, 816 S.W.2d 741, 744 (Tenn.
1991); Gonzales v. Alman Constr. Co., 857 S.W.2d 42, 44-45
(Tenn.Ct.App. 1993). Since this determination involves a
question of law, there is no presumption of correctness as to the
trial court’s judgment. Robinson v. Omer, 952 S.W.2d 423, 426
(Tenn. 1997); Hembree v. State, 925 S.W.2d 513, 515 (Tenn. 1996).
In making our determination, we must view the evidence in a light
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most favorable to the nonmoving party, and we must draw all
reasonable inferences in favor that party. Byrd v. Hall, 847
S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tenn. 1993). Summary judgment is appropriate
only if no genuine issues of material fact exist and if the
undisputed material facts entitle the party to a judgment as a
matter of law. Rule 56.04, Tenn.R.Civ.P.; Byrd, 847 S.W.2d at
211.
III.
The parties agree that the County began constructing a
public road on the plaintiffs’ property in June, 1994. Pursuant
to T.C.A. § 29-16-124, the plaintiffs had one year from the date
the County began construction to file a claim for inverse
condemnation. Thus, the statute of limitations for the
plaintiffs’ action expired in June, 1995. The plaintiffs did not
file their complaint alleging inverse condemnation until January,
1997 –- well after the statute of limitations had expired. The
plaintiffs argue, however, that their complaint is not time-
barred because it was filed pursuant to the savings statute,
T.C.A. § 28-1-105.
For the savings statute to apply to and save the
plaintiffs’ cause of action for inverse condemnation, their
original cause of action must have been one for inverse
condemnation and must have been filed within the original
limitations period, i.e., before a critical date in June, 1995.
See Bennett v. Town & Country Ford, Inc., 816 S.W.2d 52, 53-54
(Tenn.Ct.App. 1991). We find that this did not occur. In
August, 1994, the plaintiffs filed a complaint seeking damages
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against the County for trespass. An action in trespass confirms
ownership of the subject property in the plaintiff; an action for
inverse condemnation is based upon a taking and confirms
ownership in the entity taking the property. Thus, assuming
these causes of action are not alleged in the alternative, they
are mutually exclusive. An action in trespass does not include
within its ambit an action for inverse condemnation. In the
instant case, the plaintiffs’ complaint filed on August 19, 1994,
does not allege inverse condemnation in the alternative or
otherwise. Because the plaintiffs did not pursue an inverse
condemnation action within the original limitations period, we
find that the statute of limitations bars their claim and
further, that the savings statute does not apply.
Even if the plaintiffs’ complaint filed in 1994 could
be construed as an action for inverse condemnation, and we have
held that it cannot be so construed, we find that the complaint
in the instant case is nevertheless barred. An action brought
pursuant to the savings statute must be brought within one year
of the termination of the original action. Poppenheimer v. Bluff
City Motor Homes, 658 S.W.2d 106, 110 (Tenn.Ct.App. 1983); Evans
v. Perkey, 647 S.W.2d 636, 640-41 (Tenn.Ct.App. 1982). Here, the
order dismissing the plaintiffs’ original complaint was entered
June 30, 1995; thereafter, the County filed a motion to
reconsider, which the trial court denied in an order entered
December 21, 1995. Thus, the plaintiffs had one year from and
after December 21, 1995, to refile their complaint. However,
they did not file their complaint until January 6, 1997. Thus,
even if the savings statute was available to the plaintiffs –-
and we have held that it is not -- they failed to refile within
the one year period afforded by the savings statute. We find no
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authority to support the plaintiffs’ contention that the one-year
savings statute does not begin to run until the 30 days to file a
notice of appeal has expired. The critical date, for the purpose
of the commencement of the running of the one-year savings
statute is the date of entry of the judgment or order finally
concluding the proceedings in the trial court. In this case,
that date was December 21, 1995.
We therefore find that the statute of limitations ran
on plaintiffs’ claim for inverse condemnation in June, 1995, and
further, that the claim could not have been revived by operation
of the savings statute. The trial court’s grant of summary
judgment was correct.
IV.
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. Costs on
appeal are taxed to the appellants. This case is remanded for
collection of costs assessed below, pursuant to applicable law.
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__________________________
Charles D. Susano, Jr., J.
CONCUR:
________________________
Houston M. Goddard, P.J.
________________________
Herschel P. Franks, J.
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