W. Lowell Starling and Nancy Starling v. Lake Meade Property Owners Association, Inc. (Pennsylvania)
The parties to this case are Lake Meade, a planned community in Adams County, Pennsylvania, and Mr. and Mrs. Starlings, who own 2 lots in the community. The Starling's lots are located at the tip of a peninsula that is served by Custer Drive, an Association road. In 1968, the original Declarant, Lake Meade, Inc. conveyed all roads in the community, along with 35 common area parcels, to the Association.
The dispute in this case centers on the ownership and use of the cul de sac at the end of Custer Drive. Upon constructing their home, the Starlings began seeing unit owners and nonmembers parking their vehicles in the cul-de-sac, leading to complaints made to Lake Meade Property Owners Association (LMPOA). In April 2010, the Starlings filed suit in the Court of Common Pleas and claimed that they owned a portion of the cul de sac and claimed a trespass against LMPOA. In their amended Complaint the Starlings sought to define the boundaries of one of their lots and confirm that the cul-de-sac could only be used for vehicle traffic and not for parking or recreation. LMPOA moved for partial summary judgment on the ownership issue, arguing that it had fee simple title to Custer Drive, the cul-de-sac. The Starlings claimed that the roads and cul-de-sac were merely easements. On January 15, 2013, the trial court granted LMPOA's motion on all counts other than a nuisance claim.
In September 2014, the Starlings allowed for the entry of a consent order and appealed to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. The Superior Court reversed and remanded the case, holding the developer could not convey fee simple ownership in a road and cul de sac to LMPOA and LMPOA homeowners did not enjoy the right to use the road and cul de sac for anything other than ingress and egress. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted the petition for allowance of appeal and certified three issues on appeal, however, CAI's amicus brief is limited to the issue of whether the Superior Court erred as a matter of law in holding that a fee simple owner of a private road who grants an easement over that road extinguishes fee simple ownership of the road.
The primary reason for the amicus brief in this case is to correct the Superior Court's misunderstanding of the nature of the Association's ownership of the common facilities and the impact of the use easements granted to unit owners in the planned community. In every community with private roads, the developer ultimately conveys fee simple absolute title to all of the common facilities to the community association, including the roads. That common facility conveyance was done correctly in Lake Meade, but the Superior Court did not reach that same conclusion.
Amicus Brief
CAI Amicus Brief Authors: Nicholas Charles Haros, Esq. and Gregory D. Malaska, Esq.
Prior Rulings: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Decision, Superior Court Decision, Trial Court Decision
CAI Amicus Brief Review Committee: Robert Diamond, Esq., Chair of Amicus Committee, Steven L. Sugarman, Esq. (PA), Gary Daddario, Esq. (NH), Thomas C. Schild, Esq. (MD)