Michelle L. Ford, et al. v. Gary Dickerson, Sr., Gary Dickerson, Jr., and Terrie Dickerson, 222 W. Va. 61

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed summary judgment against appellants seeking to enjoin alleged obstructions on Second Avenue and Fifth Street in Jeffrey, Boone County. The court held that the appellants presented no evidence establishing that the roads had been accepted as public roads by a proper public authority, and no genuine issue of material fact existed. The court also rejected arguments based on county commission proceedings, state correspondence, recorded maps and deeds, and statutory presumptions.

Holdings

1. To establish that privately owned land became a public road through dedication, the claimant must show both a dedication to public use and acceptance of that dedication by the proper public authority.
2. The appellants failed to create a genuine issue of material fact regarding acceptance of Second Avenue and Fifth Street by a proper public authority.
3. Summary judgment was proper because the record contained no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Second Avenue and Fifth Street had been accepted as public roads.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the appellants presented sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact concerning whether Second Avenue and Fifth Street were public roads.
2. Whether recorded maps, deed references, the county commission's refusal to close Second Avenue, or related governmental correspondence established acceptance of a dedication by a proper public authority.
3. Whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment to the appellees.

Disposition

affirmed