Opinion ID: 1756913
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Title Issue

Text: This Court has carefully considered numerous title theories advanced by the respective parties, including those raised for the first time in this Court by the respondent. The trial court, in a very thorough, well-documented opinion, adjudicated the respective interests of the parties on the disputed premises. The appropriate standard of review is whether or not the trial court was clearly erroneous or abused its discretion. As the Court of Appeals opined, there is an abundance of title law, but in order to make application thereof there must be factual support. The Court of Appeals found that the trial court's determination of the intricate title questions involved was not clearly erroneous. Suffice to say, this Court, upon review, cannot say the trial court erred in adjudicating the title interests of the competing parties. It is not for us to determine whether or not we would have reached a different conclusion, faced with the same evidence confronting the trial court. Bethlehem relied to a great extent on the 1865 Gallop and Sowards survey to support its title claims. The trial court found the Gallop and Sowards survey to be void. We, along with the Court of Appeals, are not willing to go that far. However, as with the trial court and the Court of Appeals, we agree that Bethlehem failed to prove that the contested land fell within that survey. Our role is not to substitute our opinions for those of the trial court in the absence of clear error; therefore, we affirm the opinion of the Court of Appeals on the issue of title, the Court of Appeals having correctly applied the standard of review.