Opinion ID: 828424
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: establishing title in lda actions

Text: The majority concludes that in this case establishing title is a necessary prerequisite to the alteration of the plat. I agree.15 If the plat had been simply altered without a judicial decree that plaintiffs were the true owners of the property, the LDA would have served as the vehicle to “establish an otherwise nonexistent property right,” which would be contrary to our holding in Tomecek v Bavas, 482 Mich 484, 496; 759 NW2d 178 (2008) (“The LDA was never intended to enable a court to establish an otherwise nonexistent property right.”).16 But that does not mean that plaintiffs should be relieved from filing their cause of action pursuant to the LDA. MCL 560.223 requires the plaintiff in an LDA action to set forth the “reasons for seeking the vacation, correction, or revision” of a plat, which in this case would obviously be that the plaintiff acquired an interest in the platted property by adverse possession.17 The trial court would 15 In supposing that this dissent would hold that “an LDA action [is] a prerequisite to establishing an adverse possession claim,” ante at 12 n 39, the majority misapprehends this dissent. The argument here is not that an LDA action is a prerequisite to the establishment of an adverse-possession claim, but only that, when an adverse-possession claim overlaps an action to “vacate, correct, or revise a plat,” the former must be brought within the LDA in order to ensure that the protections afforded by the LDA inure to the benefit of persons whom the statute was intended to protect. 16 Although I continue to believe that Tomecek was correct that an LDA action seeking to “vacate, correct, or revise a recorded plat” does not enable a court to establish an otherwise nonexistent property right, Justice CAVANAGH, who joins this opinion, does not. See Tomecek, 482 Mich at 499 (CAVANAGH, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). However, neither of our positions in Tomecek is inconsistent with the position asserted in this dissent. 17 Contrary to the majority’s position, the doctrine of standing would not bar an adverse possessor from proceeding in this manner, even one who was not already the owner of a 25 then proceed with the case as with any other adverse-possession action, and the plaintiff would be required to show “clear and cogent proof of possession that [has been] actual, visible, open, notorious, exclusive, continuous and uninterrupted for the statutory period of 15 years, hostile and under color of claim of right.” Burns v Foster, 348 Mich 8, 14; 81 NW2d 386 (1957). If the plaintiff is able to meet this burden of proof, the trial court would then “vacate, correct, or revise all or a part of a recorded plat,” as provided in sections 222 to 229 of the LDA. MCL 560.221. In this way, persons who purchase property in reliance on the representations made in a plat, as well as future purchasers of platted property, are protected by the requirements of the LDA, and the plat remains accurate because a new plat must then be prepared in whole or part. MCL 560.229(1).18 Indeed, the majority itself sees “no reason why plaintiffs could not have addressed both the adverse possession claim and the LDA claim in bifurcated proceedings . . . in platted lot. MCL 560.222 provides that a complaint may be filed by “the owner of a lot in the subdivision, a person of record claiming under the owner, or the governing body of the municipality in which the subdivision covered by the plat is located.” Because title vests automatically in the adverse possessor upon expiration of the period of limitations, Gardner v Gardner, 257 Mich 172, 176; 241 NW 179 (1932), the adverse possessor would be an “owner of a lot in a subdivision” and thus would have standing to file a complaint under MCL 560.222. 18 Requiring plaintiffs to proceed in this manner does not run afoul of Tomecek because the LDA is not being used here to create substantive property rights. Rather, the doctrine of adverse possession itself created these rights, which passed to plaintiffs upon the expiration of the requisite period of limitations. Gardner, 257 Mich at 176. Thus, the LDA does not serve as a vehicle to create substantive property rights, but only serves as the “tool to validate property rights that already exist[].” Tomecek, 482 Mich at 496 (opinion by KELLY, J.). 26 which the court would have first addressed the quiet title claim and then, if necessary, resolved any issues regarding the plat[.]” Ante at 21. However, it simply believes that “there is nothing in the LDA that requires a litigant to proceed in that manner.” Ante at 21. To me, what compels a litigant to proceed in that manner is, equally simply, that the LDA constitutes the exclusive manner by which to “vacate, correct, or revise” a plat. The township’s easement is a “part of the plat,” and when that interest is altered-- or in this case entirely terminated-- outside the scope of the LDA, the mandate that actions seeking to “vacate, correct, or revise” must be undertaken in a particular manner is disregarded. Although plaintiffs could establish title in a quiet-title action, if the LDA and the quiettitle statutes are to be harmonized, plaintiffs must file such an action under the LDA. If nothing requires a litigant to proceed in that manner, and if a litigant can proceed in a piecemeal fashion by bringing only a quiet-title action, and then-- and only if he so chooses-- a subsequent action to alter the plat under the LDA, then why did this Court reverse in Martin, in which the plaintiffs proceeded in the identical manner now deemed acceptable by the majority? Our analysis in that case answers this question, and it merits reiteration: Allowing this action to proceed as one to quiet title is contrary to the statutes, which not only outline the specific procedures to be followed and what must be pleaded, but also require that an extensive group of parties be served, including everyone owning property located within three hundred feet of the lands described in the petition, the municipality, the State Treasurer, the drain commissioner, the county road commissioners, affected public utilities, and, in certain instances, the directors of the Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources. [Martin, 469 Mich at 550-551 (emphasis added).] 27