Court Opinion

ID: 9592146
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:10:50.658194+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:01:16.058398
License: Public Domain

BEASLEY, Judge,
dissenting.
Because I believe that the trial court abused its discretion by striking the affidavits of Costa’s tendered expert witnesses in their entirety, rather than striking only the final paragraph of each, and consideration of the admissible portions thereof creates a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the map in question pertains to Costa’s property, I respectfully dissent.
The majority relies on Williams v. Sapp, 83 N.C. App. 116, 349 S.E.2d 304 (1986), to support its conclusion that the final paragraph of each affidavit submitted by Costa is inadmissible. Where the final statement in each of Costa’s experts’ affidavits reaches a naked conclusion analogous to the inadmissible conclusory testimony in Williams that an easement by implication existed — comparable to whether T had capacity to make a will — I agree with the majority that paragraph 8 “invades the province of the court” and was correctly stricken from the evidence. I believe, however, that the remaining *599statements are distinguishable from Williams in that they do not amount to an instruction to the jury regarding what result to reach. Rather, paragraphs 4-7 of the affidavits are more akin to testimony regarding T’s “mental capacity to know the nature and extent of his property and the natural objects of his bounty.” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 8C-1, Rule 704 (Commentary). Moreover, I believe that these statements denying that the map includes Costa’s property (and not reaching any decision reserved for the trial court as to the existence of an easement) aid the jury in understanding the plat and discerning its meaning. Therefore, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that paragraphs 4-7 are not helpful to the trier of fact because “they merely describe the obvious physical features of the map,” as the jury is most likely unfamiliar with reading and making sense of these types of surveys.
In several cases, this Court has allowed surveyors to express their opinions, which not only supports a conclusion that paragraphs 4-7 do not invade the province of the jury but also implicitly deems such testimony helpful. See, e.g., Beam v. Kerlee, 120 N.C. App. 203, 215, 461 S.E.2d 911, 920-21 (1995) (allowing expert land surveyor to testify to conclusions he had drawn from old survey maps, despite embracing an ultimate issue to be decided by the trier of fact, because he “was an expert in land survey and his testimony may have helped the jury understand conclusions which could be drawn [therefrom]”); Wellborn v. Roberts, 83 N.C. App. 340, 341, 349 S.E.2d 886, 886 (1986) (reasoning that Rule 704 superseded the previous rule that “a surveyor could not state his opinion as to the location of a boundary” and finding expert surveyor and lay testimony as to where they believed the boundary line was located unobjectionable merely because it related to an ultimate issue in the case); Green Hi-Win Farm, Inc. v. Neal, 83 N.C. App. 201, 203-05, 349 S.E.2d 614, 616-17 (1986) (allowing expert witness surveyor to testify “to the location of the beginning point of defendant’s property”). Paragraphs 4-7 of the affidavits at issue, testifying that a particular map does not pertain to a particular piece of property, are substantially similar to testimony as to the location of the beginning point of a deed, where a property boundary lies, and conclusions drawn from a survey.
The majority’s failure to consider these Rule 704 cases that deal specifically with survey map testimony has resulted in a holding that I believe is contrary to North Carolina case law. In conclusion, I believe that only paragraph 8 amounts to an instruction on whether Costa’s parcel is subject to the easements, and where paragraphs 1-3 *600merely address affidavit formalities and paragraphs 4-7 would indeed assist the jury to comprehend the evidence, the trial court abused its discretion in striking anything but the final statement of each affi-. davit. Accordingly, the admission of Costa’s affidavits into evidence, when compared with the affidavit submitted by the Authority, would create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the easement in question includes Costa’s property.
Additionally, I do not believe that Costa’s failure to comply with the requirements of Chapter 40A is dispositive of this entire action. While I agree that the statutory procedure issues recognized by the majority dispose of Costa’s counterclaims, the Authority’s allegation that the easement crossed Costa’s property would have remained for resolution even if the trial court had dismissed Costa’s counterclaims for inverse condemnation, trespass, and declaratory judgment. Where the Authority’s claims for declaratory and injunctive relief are not controlled by Chapter 40A or subject to dismissal for failure to comply therewith, the Authority’s action would have survived. As such, Costa would still have been able to present his defense thereof, and his affidavits were admissible, excluding paragraph 8, to dispute the Authority’s allegation that his property is subject to the easement at issue. Thus, I would qualify the majority’s approval of the order — for the reasons addressed sua sponte under Chapter 40A — by limiting the grant of summary judgment to Costa’s counterclaims. As such, I would reverse the trial court’s order striking paragraphs 1-7 of Costa’s affidavits and entering summary judgment in favor of Authority and remand for consideration of the affidavits, as admissible, and for dismissal of Costa’s counterclaims, as consistent with the latter part of the majority’s opinion. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.