Fink v. Municipality of Anchorage

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the superior court’s judgment in a dispute over whether property owners’ lots extended from the top of a bluff to the pre-earthquake mean high-tide line along Knik Arm. The court held that the lot owners waived their right to a jury trial on the title issue and failed to establish a legal interest in the disputed property superior to the Municipality of Anchorage’s interest. The court also upheld the superior court’s factual findings concerning the subdivider’s intent and the applicable property boundaries.

Holdings

1. The lot owners waived their right to a jury trial on the title issue by jointly filing a proposed amended pretrial order providing that superior title would be decided during Phase 1 and by failing to meaningfully object to the bench trial after the bifurcation order.
2. The lot owners failed to prove a substantial interest, legal estate, present right to possession, or title superior to the Municipality’s title in the disputed parcel.
3. The Earthslide Relief Act did not apply because the earthquake moved surface material but did not move the legal boundaries of the lot owners’ property to a different location.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the superior court abused its discretion by bifurcating the title issue from the ejectment claim and conducting a bench trial on title despite a jury demand.
2. Whether the lot owners proved a substantial interest, legal estate, or superior title in the disputed parcel.
3. Whether the Earthslide Relief Act required recognition of the lot owners’ claimed northern boundary after the 1964 earthquake.
4. Whether the lot owners’ claims were barred by the statute of limitations.

Disposition

affirmed