Klein v. McCullough

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held that a deed clause granting a stranger to the deed a right of first refusal is neither a reservation nor an exception and therefore is not void under the stranger-to-the-deed rule. The court reversed the circuit court's dismissal of the plaintiff's complaint and remanded for further proceedings. The court declined to consider the plaintiff's request to abolish the stranger-to-the-deed rule because that issue had not been decided by the trial court.

Holdings

1. A clause in a deed giving a stranger a right of first refusal is neither a reservation nor an exception to the granting clause and therefore may not be declared void under the stranger-to-the-deed rule.
2. The circuit court erred by granting the defendant's motion to dismiss because the complaint's right-of-first-refusal claim was not barred by the stranger-to-the-deed rule.
3. The court declined to consider the request to abolish the stranger-to-the-deed rule because the nonjurisdictional issue was not presented to or decided by the circuit court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a deed clause granting a stranger to the deed a right of first refusal is a reservation or exception subject to the stranger-to-the-deed rule.
2. Whether the circuit court properly dismissed Klein's complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) based on that rule.
3. Whether the Supreme Court should abolish the stranger-to-the-deed rule when the issue was raised for the first time on appeal.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded