Robert Flaherty v. Helen Muther , 2013 Me. LEXIS 39 ( 2013 )

MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Reporter of Decisions
Decision: 2013 ME 39
Docket: Cum-12-314
Argued: January 15, 2013
Decided: April 2, 2013
Panel: SAUFLEY, C.J., and ALEXANDER, LEVY, SILVER, MEAD, GORMAN, and JABAR,
JJ.
ROBERT FLAHERTY et al.
v.
HELEN MUTHER et al.
ALEXANDER, J.
[¶1] Helen Muther, Paul Woods, and the Buffett Coastal Trust appeal from
a judgment of the Superior Court (Cumberland County, Warren, J.) concluding
that they unreasonably interfered with the easement rights of Robert Flaherty and
other members of their subdivision (the J-Lot owners) by installing video
surveillance cameras on an easement crossing their property to provide access to a
beach. Muther and Woods contend that the J-Lot owners lacked standing to rely
on a 2006 settlement to support their position and that the J-Lot owners waived
their capacity to contest this appeal or are estopped from doing so. Muther and
Woods also assert that the trial court erred as a matter of fact and of law in
concluding that their video surveillance cameras constitute an unreasonable
interference with the easement.
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[¶2] Because the record does not support the conclusion that the video
cameras unreasonably interfere with the access easement possessed by the J-Lot
owners, we vacate the judgment.
I. CASE HISTORY
[¶3] Since 2004, Muther and Woods have owned oceanfront property in a
Cape Elizabeth subdivision known as the J-Lot, and addressed by our opinion in
Flaherty v. Muther, 2011 ME 32, ¶¶ 5, 7, 17 A.3d 640. A 1970 subdivision plan
designates the Muther-Woods property as Lot J-46, and each J-Lot owner holds a
twenty-foot-wide walkway easement by implication over Lot J-46 to a shore area
known as Secret Beach. Id.
[¶4] In 2005, Muther and Woods brought suit against the Broad Cove Shore
Association and its directors. Id. ¶ 13. The Association is a nonprofit association
of 243 homeowners within seven subdivisions in Cape Elizabeth—including the
J-Lot subdivision. Id. ¶ 8. The suit sought to bar Association members from using
the easement, but did not challenge the easement rights of J-Lot owners. Id. ¶ 13.
Some J-Lot owners are members of the Association, but others are not. Id. ¶ 8. In
2006, Woods, Muther, and the Association reached a settlement that temporarily
ended litigation among the parties.1 Id. ¶¶ 15, 18.
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The parties orally stated the terms of the 2006 settlement on the trial court record, but never reduced
that agreement to writing. Flaherty v. Muther, 2011 ME 32, ¶¶ 16-17, 17 A.3d 640. However,
subsequent litigation resulted in a final judgment that those terms, as stated orally in the trial court record,
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[¶5] As authorized by the settlement, Muther and Woods installed a fence
and locking gate across the entrance to the easement. Id. ¶¶ 16, 19. The agreement
provides for an electronic key card system that allows cardholders—including
Association members and J-Lot owners—ingress and egress through the gate. Id.
¶¶ 16, 19. Association members have limited access to the easement from fifteen
minutes before sunrise until 9:00 a.m., and full access from 9:00 a.m. until sunset,
during which time Association members may not hold a gathering of more than ten
people, or eight adults and five children.
[¶6] The settlement also includes a nondisturbance clause, prohibiting
Association members from being “loud” or “obnoxious” in accessing the easement
or shore, and further indicating, as described orally in the trial court record, that
“there’s been a lot of controversy with respect to particularly Mr. Woods’[s]
approach to various easement holders and that . . . nondisturbance includes the fact
that peaceful users of the access are not gonna be photographed, approached, or
questioned while they’re enjoying the easement.”
[¶7] Although not expressly authorized by the settlement, Muther and
Woods installed two video surveillance cameras at the entrance to the easement.
Id. ¶ 19. In response to the installation of the gate and cameras, several J-Lot
owners filed an action for a declaratory judgment and to enjoin Muther and Woods
constituted a binding settlement. Id. ¶¶ 17-18. The relevant terms of the settlement agreement quoted in
this opinion are as stated orally in the trial court in 2006.
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from obstructing their easement rights. Id. ¶ 20. Two groups of J-Lot owners
moved for a summary judgment that they were not bound by the terms of the 2006
settlement because they had not been parties to that agreement. Id. ¶ 21. We
affirmed the trial court’s (Crowley, J.) subsequent decision, concluding that the
court did not err in determining that the J-Lot owners were not bound by the 2006
settlement because Muther and Woods had not established a prima facia case that
privity existed between the Association and the J-Lot owners. Id. ¶¶ 3, 36.
[¶8] Addressing the scope of the easement, we determined that, unlike
Association members, J-Lot owners can access the easement at any time and that
J-Lot owners could bring a reasonable number of guests with them over the
easement. Id. ¶ 61. With regard to the reasonableness of the gate, we vacated the
trial court’s judgment that the gate placed an unreasonable restriction on the J-Lot
owners’ use of the easement. Id. ¶¶ 71, 90. We noted that, because the 2006
settlement agreement provided for construction of the gate, the trial court’s
determination that the gate unreasonably interfered with the easement rights of the
J-Lot owners meant that Muther and Woods could not possibly comply with both
mandates. Id. ¶ 67. By not considering the effect of the 2006 settlement, we
concluded that the trial court’s reasonableness determination was “unduly narrow.”
Id. ¶ 69. Therefore, “[e]vidence related to the settlement agreement and the J-Lot
owners’ awareness of its terms was relevant to determining the reasonableness of
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the gate and the cameras, and the court abused its discretion in excluding that
evidence at trial.” Id. We evaluated the reasonableness of the gate in light of the
burden it placed on the J-Lot owners, weighed against Muther and Woods’s
obligations under the 2006 settlement agreement and their right to exclude
trespassers, concluding “as a matter of law that the gate does not unreasonably
interfere with the dominant estate’s use of the easement.” Id. ¶ 71.
[¶9] Addressing the cameras, we determined that
although any psychological impediment created by the cameras may
be modest given the prevalence of video surveillance in contemporary
society, the reasonableness of the cameras [could not] be determined
without an understanding of the extent to which the nondisturbance
clause of the settlement agreement prohibits Muther and Woods from
photographing users of the easement.
Id. ¶ 72. Accordingly, we remanded the case for further consideration of whether
the cameras placed an unreasonable restriction on the easement rights of the J-Lot
owners. Id. ¶ 72 & n.13.
[¶10] On remand, the Superior Court (Mills, J.) ordered the parties to brief
the issue. The parties did not submit additional evidence, instead choosing to rely
on the existing record. In response to the order for briefing, two groups of J-Lot
owners submitted two separate memoranda—one arguing that the cameras
unreasonably interfered with the rights of J-Lot owners, and the other contesting
the gate but not the cameras. Several J-Lot owners that were plaintiffs or
third-party defendants did not respond to the court’s request for briefing.
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[¶11] In a May 7, 2012, judgment, the court (Warren, J.) concluded, “the
presence of surveillance cameras will unreasonably interfere with the J-Lot owners’
use of the easement.” The court cited the following facts, which it considered in
arriving at its conclusion: Woods had previously taken photographs of and
confronted individuals using the easement; some J-Lot owners were frightened by
these episodes, which deterred them from exercising their rights under the
easement; J-Lot owners expressed concern about the need for the cameras;
installation of the cameras was not expressly contemplated by the 2006 settlement;
and the 2006 settlement contained a “nondisturbance clause” indicating the parties’
expectation that “peaceful users of the access” would not be “photographed,
approached, or questioned while they’re using the easement.”
[¶12] Muther and Woods filed a motion for additional findings of fact and
conclusions of law pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 52(b), which the court denied. Muther
and Woods timely appealed.
II. LEGAL ANALYSIS
A. Standing, Waiver, and Estoppel
[¶13] Muther and Woods challenge the J-Lot owners’ standing to claim
rights under the 2006 settlement involving Muther, Woods, and the Association.
In determining whether the cameras unreasonably interfere with the easement
rights of J-Lot owners, it was necessary for the trial court to weigh the competing
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interests in the easement, including the easement rights that the J-Lot owners
acquired by implication as provided by the 1970 subdivision plan, Muther and
Woods’s interest in protecting their property from trespassers and overburdening
of the easement, and Muther and Woods’s obligations to non-J-Lot easement
holders pursuant to the 2006 settlement. See Flaherty, 2011 ME 32, ¶¶ 69-71,
17 A.3d 640. For this reason, we previously determined that the 2006 settlement
was relevant evidence of the reasonableness of the cameras, although it is not
binding as between the parties to this suit. See id. ¶¶ 35, 69.
[¶14] The J-Lot owners are not seeking to enforce rights pursuant to the
2006 settlement, but, as we stated previously, the extent to which the
nondisturbance clause of the settlement prohibits Muther and Woods from
photographing users of the easement is relevant to the reasonableness of the
cameras. Id. ¶ 72.
[¶15] An examination of the merits of the waiver and estoppel arguments
reveals that the trial court properly declined to accept Muther and Woods’s
arguments on these issues.2 See M.R. Civ. P. 41(b); Blue Star Corp. v. CKF Props.,
LLC, 2009 ME 101, ¶¶ 26-27, 980 A.2d 1270. Regardless of whether some of the
parties to this action lacked standing to enforce the terms of the 2006 settlement,
2
Insofar as Muther and Woods assert that a failure by some J-Lot owners to contest the proceedings
on remand should bear on the determination of whether the cameras unreasonably interfere with the rights
of other J-Lot owners, this argument fails because one J-Lot owner has just as much right to assert his or
her easement rights as a group of J-Lot owners.
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the court did not err by considering that agreement because its terms provided
evidence of the need for injunctive relief, which is relevant to Flaherty’s claim.
See M.R. Evid. 401, 402.
B. Video Cameras as Interfering with the Easement
[¶16] In determining the reasonableness of an alleged interference with the
use of an easement, “[w]e review the court’s relevant factual findings for clear
error and the court’s legal conclusion of reasonableness de novo.” Flaherty,
2011 ME 32, ¶ 63, 17 A.3d 640.
[¶17] As with the interpretation of a contract, the interpretation of a
settlement, and whether it is ambiguous, is reviewed de novo. See id. ¶ 40. When
contract language is unambiguous, it “must be interpreted according to its plain
and commonly accepted meaning.” Cookson v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 2012
ME 7, ¶ 8, 34 A.3d 1156. “If the language of the contract is ambiguous, however,
its interpretation is a question of fact for the factfinder.” Estate of Barrows, 2006
ME 143, ¶ 12, 913 A.2d 608.
[¶18] The trial court did not expressly determine whether the 2006
settlement was ambiguous as to whether it permitted video surveillance. With the
parties electing not to submit any new evidence, we interpret the 2006 settlement
de novo because we conclude that it is unambiguous with regard to the video
surveillance cameras at issue here. See Flaherty, 2011 ME 32, ¶ 40, 17 A.3d 640.
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[¶19] The relevant language of the 2006 settlement provides, “there’s been
a lot of controversy with respect to particularly Mr. Woods’[s] approach to various
easement holders and that they anticipate that part of the nondisturbance clause
includes the fact that peaceful users of the access are not gonna be photographed,
approached, or questioned while they’re enjoying the easement.” In interpreting
this language, the trial court noted that although the 2006 settlement “addressed the
subject of photographing users of the easement in general,” it “did not specifically
address the use of surveillance cameras as part of an access system.” However, the
court concluded that “the clear implication of the [2006 settlement] strongly
disfavors the use of surveillance cameras.”
[¶20] We recently described video surveillance as “a phenomenon that is
lawful in many situations and increasingly common in modern society.” State v.
Strong, 2013 ME 21, ¶ 9, --- A.3d ---. A more general survey has observed that
“[i]n an age of ubiquitous recording, citizens have already learned to expect that
virtually anything they do outside of their home may be recorded by someone.”
Glenn H. Reynolds & John A. Steakley, A Due Process Right to Record the Police,
89 Wash. U. L. Rev. 1203, 1210 (2012). Such common, unobtrusive recording by
a stationary video camera or cameras installed on one’s own property for
surveillance or security purposes is not the type of confrontational, in-your-face
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photography described in the record in Flaherty and addressed in the
nondisturbance clause of the 2006 settlement agreement.
[¶21] Property, although subject to an easement, remains within the
ownership and control of the owner of the servient estate. That ownership and
control is subject only to the restriction that the owner of the servient estate not
“materially impair” or “unreasonably interfere with” the use of the right-of-way
that is allowed by the easement. See Flaherty, 2011 ME 32, ¶ 63, 17 A.3d 640
(quoting Morgan v. Boyes, 65 Me. 124, 125 (1876)). This principle is further
limited to application only within the bounds of the easement. See Badger v. Hill,
404 A.2d 222, 227 (Me. 1979); see also Stanton v. Strong, 2012 ME 48,
¶ 10, 40 A.3d 1013. The owner of the servient estate “has the right to use its land
in a manner not inconsistent with the dominant estate holder’s right.” See
Flaherty, 2011 ME 32, ¶ 63, 17 A.3d 640 (quoting Drummond v. Foster, 107 Me.
401, 407, 78 A. 470 (1910)).
[¶22] The dominant estate holder’s “right” here is the right of access to
Secret Beach over the walkway easement.
[¶23] The placement of security cameras at or near the gate across the
easement providing access to the beach does not, in any way, impair or interfere
with the rights of access that have been guaranteed to those authorized to access
the beach across the easement. The video cameras impede access to no greater
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extent than the placement of video cameras outside and inside courthouses impedes
access to those buildings and courtrooms. Further, there is no evidence suggesting
that the video recordings will be used for any purpose other than surveillance for
security purposes.
[¶24] The defendants, like any other property owners, may engage in
reasonable measures to provide security and surveillance of any part of their
property, and certainly may monitor uses of the easement to assure that the
easement is not overburdened or used by individuals without authority to access
the beach by crossing the easement. The means selected—unobtrusive, stationary
video cameras—do not intrude on the easement in any way.
[¶25] Interpreting the 2006 settlement’s ban on photography to include
stationary video cameras is not reasonably related to prohibiting the personally
confrontational photography practices or other acts addressed in the 2006
settlement agreement. The placement of video cameras at issue here does not
unreasonably interfere with the access easement benefitting the J-Lot owners, nor
do the unobtrusive video cameras violate the non-disturbance clause that limited
confrontational, in-person photography practices conducted in or near the easement
right-of-way.
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The entry is:
Judgment vacated. Remanded for entry of
judgment in favor of the defendants on the video
camera issue.
On the briefs:
James A. Billings, Esq., and Walter F. McKee, Esq., McKee Law, P.A.,
Augusta, for appellants Helen Muther, Paul Woods, and the Buffett Coastal
Trust
Thomas R. McNaboe, Esq., Cumberland Foreside, for appellees Mary
Arnold, Robert Flaherty, Sherry Flaherty, and Steve McGrath
Stephen D. Bither, Esq., Portland, for appellees Russell Pierce, Jacqueline
Pierce, Todd Colpitts, Niamh Colpitts, David House, Susan House, Paulette
York, David Meagher, and Ellen Meagher
At oral argument:
James A. Billings, Esq., for appellants Helen Muther, Paul Woods, and the
Buffett Coastal Trust
Thomas R. McNaboe, Esq., for appellees Mary Arnold, Robert Flaherty,
Sherry Flaherty, Steve McGrath, Russell Pierce, Jacqueline Pierce, Todd
Colpitts, Niamh Colpitts, David House, Susan House, Paulette York, David
Meagher, and Ellen Meagher
Cumberland County Superior Court docket number RE-2008-98
FOR CLERK REFERENCE ONLY