Court Opinion

ID: 9773615
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 17:51:52.855388+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:55.560109
License: Public Domain

STEPHEN F. PRESLAR, Chief Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent and would affirm the judgment of the trial court granting a permanent injunction in this matter.
As I view this case, the problem arises from the fact that inside lots and corner lots are treated differently under the covenants of the subdivision. Appellants seek to occupy a corner lot under the restrictions applicablé to inside lots; they would evade the covenants running with their land by changing property lines. The majority has held that “although Lot 6 is a corner lot, no part of Lot 5 is a corner lot; thus, the restriction in question is not applicable.” Thus, the 16 foot strip of Lot 5 is given the status of a “lot” by application of the restrictions applicable to inside lots. Appellants have their house on, occupy, and use Lot 6, a corner lot, in the normal contemplated use of a lot in a residential subdivision; they have, in effect, enlarged that lot by adding a 16 foot strip. In allowing the covenants and restrictions applicable to that 16 foot strip to control Appellants’ use of the corner lot, the majority is allowing the tail to wag the dog. Under the covenants, an inside lot is one thing, and a corner lot is another, and Appellants in their use of a corner lot must do so in accordance with the covenants applicable to corner lots.
The basic concept underlying the use of restrictive covenants is that each purchaser in a restricted subdivision is subjected to the burden and entitled to the benefit of a covenant. Davis v. Huey, 620 S.W.2d 561 (Tex.1981). I find the majority opinion contrary to this basic concept for it allows Appellants to enjoy the benefits of the corner lot covenants but not the burdens. I find that this holding violates the mutuality of obligations central to the purpose of restrictive covenants.
I am unable to agree that the majority opinion can be upheld under the doctrine of strict construction and resolution against the person seeking to enforce restrictive covenants. “Restrictive covenants relating to the use of land were given rather strict construction in the early stages of their development. However, the modern tendency favors their use and the enforcement of their provisions to the use of the writ of injunction.” Lowe, Remedies, sec. 27, pp. 53-56 (6 Texas Practice 2d ed. 1973). Inwood North Homeowners’ Association, Inc. v. Meier, 625 S.W.2d 742 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1981, no writ). The matter is thoroughly discussed in the final version of the much litigated case of Davis v. Huey, 620 S.W.2d 561 (Tex.1981). Enforcement was denied on grounds that there was a lack of notice of the restriction, a matter not present in the case before us. But, as to the law which I think is applicable to the case before us, the court said:
“In Curlee v. Walker, 112 Tex. 40, 244 S.W. 497, 498 (1922), quoting with approval from Hooper v. Lottman, 171 S.W. 270, 272 (Tex.Civ.App.—El Paso 1914, no writ), the court stated several rules pertaining to covenants in a subdivision:
So the general rule may be safely stated to be that where there is a general plan or scheme adopted by the owner of a tract, for the development and improvement of the property by which it is divided into streets and lots, and which contemplates a restriction as to the uses to which lots may be put, or the character and location of improvements thereon, to be secured by a covenant embodying the restriction to be inserted in the deed to purchasers; and it appears from the language of the deed itself, construed in the light of the surrounding circumstances, that such covenants are intended for the benefit of all the lands, and that each purchaser is to be subject thereto, and to have the benefit thereof, and such covenants are inserted in all the deeds for lots sold in pursuance of the plan, a purchaser and his assigns may enforce the covenant against any other purchaser, *324and his assigns, if he has bought with actual or constructive knowledge of the scheme, and the covenant was part of the subject matter of his purchase.”
Indicative of the current status of the law in this area is the fact that in 1977 the Legislature enacted Article 1293b, Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann., providing that in an action based on a breach of a restrictive covenant pertaining to real property, a prevailing party shall recover reasonable attorney fees in addition to his costs and claim. There was no claim for attorney fees in the case before us, and reference to the statute is merely to show the current trend in the law.
For the reasons stated, I would affirm the judgment of the trial court.