Crosbie v. 750 West Owners Association

Summary

The Utah Court of Appeals reviewed a summary judgment ruling concerning whether two unnumbered parcels in a commercial community ownership development were common areas owned by the owners association. The court held that the plat, declaration, and amendment contained inconsistencies creating an ambiguity regarding the parcels’ status, making parol evidence relevant and summary judgment inappropriate. It reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. The governing documents are ambiguous because provisions concerning the parcels, when read together, give rise to different or inconsistent meanings even though each provision is clear when read alone.
2. Once the governing documents were found ambiguous, parol evidence was admissible to establish the declarants' intent, and summary judgment was improper because the appellees had not shown that no genuine dispute of material fact existed regarding that intent.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the development's plat, declaration, and amendment were ambiguous as to whether the Trust Parcel and LLC Parcel were common area.
2. Whether the ambiguity created a genuine dispute of material fact concerning the declarants' intent, making summary judgment inappropriate.
3. Whether the district court properly granted summary judgment and dismissed Crosbie's quiet-title and wrongful-lien claims.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded