Opinion ID: 172084
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Quiet-Title and Condemnation Proceedings

Text: In 1995 Mr. Sable purchased a parcel of property immediately north of a City public-works facility. The parcel occupied about two city blocks. Fenced in with the parcel on its southern border was a 33-foot-by-290-foot strip (the Strip) that had been the south half of a City street that ran east to west. The street was vacated in 1976, and apparently title to the vacated land was split down the middle, with ownership of each half going to the adjoining property owner, so that the Strip reverted to the City. According to Mr. Sable, however, his predecessors in title had taken possession of the Strip and kept it continually fenced in since 1972, giving him ownership of the Strip through adverse possession. In 1997 the City informed Mr. Sable that it wanted to use the Strip to expand its public-works facility. The City planned to move the fence from the north border of the facility to the north border of the Strip and insisted that Mr. Sable remove his possessions from the Strip. When Mr. Sable and the City were unable to reach an agreement, the three-member City Council unanimously voted to move the fence as planned. Two of the Defendants, then-Mayor Stewart E. Meyers Jr and Councilor R. Gregg Rawls, were on the Council at the time. Soon thereafter Mr. Sable filed suit against the City and the members of the Council (Meyers, Rawls, and Vice Mayor Dr. Warren L. Felton [1] ) in Oklahoma state court to quiet title to the Strip. After the court granted the City summary judgment, the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals reversed and remanded for rehearing, and the state supreme court denied certiorari in January 2000. Back in state district court Mr. Sable sought leave to amend his quiet-title petition to allege a conspiracy by the defendants and seek damages and ejectment. The court granted leave on March 30, 2001. A few weeks after the state court granted Mr. Sable's motion to amend, the City Council began the process of condemning his entire parcel`of land (not just the Strip). On April 24, 2001, it held a special meeting at which it approved a resolution declaring the necessity for acquiring and owning certain real property ..., a portion of which is also known as 7701 North Classen Boulevard [Mr. Sable's parcel], and authorizing the acquisition of the property by exercise of the power of eminent domain. Aplt.App. Vol. I at 245. Once again, Meyers and Rawls voted in favor. Before the vote the Council discussed its power to acquire Mr. Sable's property even if he did not want to sell it: VICE-MAYOR FELTON: But in any case, could we acquire [Mr. Sable's land], though? I mean, if [Mr. Sable] didn't want to sell it? JOHN WILLIAMS [a private attorney apparently retained by the City]: Yes, we can. VICE-MAYOR FELTON: Just because of where it's sitting, and why we want it? CITY ATTORNEY MOLER: That's right. If it's for a public purpose Id. Vol. III at 872. At that point, as we understand the transcript of the meeting, various conversations began simultaneously. But one exchange (on which Mr. Sable relies to show Defendants' improper motive) was recorded: COUNCILMAN RAWLS: ... There's none. VICE-MAYOR FELTON: It's good to be King. Id. At a meeting on June 25 the City Council passed another resolution authorizing the City's use of eminent-domain power to acquire Mr. Sable's entire property, this time also authorizing negotiations with Mr. Sable to determine what he would be paid. Mr. Sable rejected the City's June 26 offer of $378,995, a figure based on an appraisal obtained by the City. In July 2001 the City filed a condemnation action in state court, alleging that Mr. Sable's property was needed to facilitate the City's expansion of its public-works facility. While the condemnation action was pending, the state court hearing Mr. Sable's quiet-title action granted partial summary judgment in favor of Mr. Sable, determining that he had ownership of the Strip through adverse possession. The issue of damages was deferred. Negotiations between Mr. Sable and the City continued without success. In December 2002 the City Councilwhich now included Meyers, Rawls, and Defendant Councilor John A. Lippertvoted again to offer to purchase Mr. Sable's property at fair market value. Id. Vol. I at 262. But, again, no agreement was reached. On April 23, 2003, Mr. Sable filed in state court the suit before us. In September 2003, after a two-year hiatus in the condemnation suit, the City filed in that suit a motion to begin the process of appraising Mr. Sable's property. Angered, Mr. Sable wrote a letter to Lippert and Defendant Kathy Walbert Walker, a new City Council member, demanding that they submit a motion to the Council ... to withdraw the condemnation action and to have the case dismissed with prejudice.  Id. Vol. II at 420. He threatened that if they did not comply, he would instruct [his] attorneys to immediately ... add your ... names to the list of Defendants in the civil-rights suit filed in April 2003. Id. The condemnation action proceeded anyway. Eventually, the trial court, affirmed by the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, upheld the condemnation as having a public purposenamely, to meet the City's ongoing water-treatment needs. The Oklahoma Supreme Court denied Mr. Sable's petition for certiorari.