Opinion ID: 1877095
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Annexation to realty

Text: Annexation refers to the act of attaching or affixing personal property to real property and, as a general proposition, an object will not acquire the status of a fixture unless it is in some manner or means, albeit slight, attached or affixed, either actually or constructively, to the realty. That is, if the object is not attached to the land or to some structure or appliance which is attached to it, it will retain its character as personalty even though intended for permanent use on the premises. [35 Am. Jur. 2d, Fixtures, § 5, p. 703.] If an object is not physically affixed to the realty, it may acquire the status of a fixture by constructive annexation. Id., § 11, p. 707. This Court first addressed constructive annexation in Colton v. Michigan Lafayette Building Co., 267 Mich. 122, 255 N.W. 433 (1934). In Colton, Lafayette subleased from Shelby Land Company realty on which Lafayette erected an office building. After Lafayette defaulted, it surrendered possession of the building to Shelby and assigned to it all subleases with tenants in the building. Lafayette subsequently sought to recover from Shelby certain property it left in the building. This property included articles such as: [1.] repair parts to elevator switchboard, elevator rugs, window shades, awnings, double doors and trim, base and shoe, red gum partitions, storm doors, elevator uniforms, window curtains, rubber matting, entrance mats, chain falls, Minneapolis thermostats and clock, wall case and mirror, [and] pump tanks for elevator [.]... [2.] unused supplies ... such ... as paper towels, soap, paint, and electric light bulbs[;] ... used supplies and detached equipment such as pails, mops vacuum cleaners, ladders, electric grinder, drill press, etc..... [ Id. at 127, 255 N.W. 433.] The issue before us was whether those articles were fixtures or personal property. Our focus was whether those articles were constructively annexed to the realty. We held that the first set of articles were fixtures because their removal from the realty would impair both their value and the value of the realty: These articles could not be removed from the building or transported from place to place without impairing their value as well as the value of the building. This building was erected for the purpose of renting stores and offices to the public and in order to be rentable must have various articles or accessories such as those listed above. [ Id. ] As to the second set of articles, we concluded that they were personal property, characterizing them as ordinary movable office furniture. Id. We next addressed constructive annexation in In re Slum Clearance, 332 Mich. 485, 494-495, 52 N.W.2d 195 (1952), in which we considered whether the condemnee's molten metal and solutions, used in melting pots (a fixture) to create plates, were fixtures. The specific issue was whether the molten steel and solutions were constructively annexed to the realty (or to a fixture on the realty). Relying on Colton, supra, we concluded that the molten metal and solutions were constructively annexed to the melting pots (a fixture on the realty) because the molten metal and solutions were useless without the melting pots and the melting pots were useless without the molten steel and solutions: Under the circumstances of the instant case, the solutions and molten metal are trade fixtures, in the same category as the accessories and spare parts usable in connection with machinery but not actually affixed to the machinery or a part of land and buildings. The tanks are admittedly trade fixtures, but without the solutions they will not plate anything. The solutions are useless except for use in the plating tanks. They are used only in connection with the tanks, they are expressly made for the purpose and they are essential to the plating operation. The solutions are not sold and are not stocks of merchandise. We consider these solutions are analogous to the detached special parts of, or special tools for, a machine and like the machine (the tanks, in this instance) are constructively annexed to the freehold, and a part of the owner's trade fixtures. The same applies to the contents of the melting pots. This liquid metal is used only as part of the plating operation and is a trade fixture. The rationale used by this Court follows the approach used by other jurisdictions. [6] We believe that the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit succinctly stated the law of constructive annexation: The doctrine of constructive annexation has frequently been applied in the case of articles which are not themselves actually or directly annexed to the realty, but are part of, or accessory to, articles which are so annexed. Thus, where the principal part of the machinery is fixture due to actual annexation to the realty, the parts of it, although not actually annexed to the freehold, are fixture[s] where they would, if removed, leave the principal part unfit for use, and where of themselves they are not capable of general use elsewhere. [ Carmichall v. United States, 273 F.2d 392, 395 (C.A.5, 1960), quoting 22 Am. Jur. 793, Fixtures, § 72.] Hence, it is without dispute that Michigan, like other jurisdictions, recognizes the law of constructive annexation.