Court Opinion

ID: 9506730
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 21:11:41.687705+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:07:06.712425
License: Public Domain

J. JONES, J.,
specially concurring.
I concur in the Court’s opinion but think it appropriate to mention an issue not particularly addressed by the parties — the timeliness of the Brewers’ action.
The Brewers acquired their interest in the real property at issue pursuant to a probate decree dated July 6,1992. The Inland Cellular lease was entered into on January 27, 1995, with a five-year term and a five-year renewal option. The lease appears to have been twice renewed, because counsel notified the Court in oral argument that the lease was then in effect. The Brewers began raising questions about the various property leases after the summer of 2000. This lawsuit was filed on June 15, 2001, during the first renewal period of this lease. It does appear that the Brewers tried, without much success, to find out what was going on with the property prior to filing their suit. However, it would seem that they could have exercised substantially more diligence in their efforts. After all, Kinzer began entering into leases for the property in 1978 and continued without apparent question until the fall of 2000. After the Brewers acquired their interest in the property in 1992 and throughout the remainder of the 1990’s, inquiry would have shown that Kinzer had leased the property for a number of communication facilities. A visit to the property would likely have disclosed the existence of several communication facilities. There is no indication that Inland Cellular’s predecessor in interest attempted to conceal the construction of its facility on the property. Things that come to mind at this point are concepts such as laches or the weighing of equities.
While Inland Cellular’s predecessor should have obtained the approval of all tenants in common when it negotiated the lease for the property, the inordinate passage of time, combined with the construction and operation of the facility on the property, will make this a difficult situation to unwind. This is not an issue that can be determined on this appeal, but it is one that will hopefully be fully aired on remand.