Shm Cape Harbour, LLC v. Realmark Meta, LLCl
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledMarch 9, 2022
Docket2D20-1590
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
SHM CAPE HARBOUR, LLC,
Appellant,
v.
REALMARK META, LLC; REALMARK MARINA GRILL, LLC;
REALMARK MARINA VIEW SOUTH, LLC; REALMARK MARINA
VIEW SOUTH II, LLC; REALMARK PARKING SERVICES ONE, LLC;
REALMARK PARKING SERVICES TWO, LLC; REALMARK CAPE
MARINA, LLC; CRE CAPE HARBOUR MARINA, LLC; CRE CAPE
HARBOUR LAND, LLC; and CRE GS CL23, LLC,
Appellees.
No. 2D20-1590
March 9, 2022
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Lee County; Alane C. Laboda,
Judge.
Steven L. Brannock, Sarah C. Pellenbarg, and Douglas A. Wallace of
Brannock Humphries & Berman, Tampa; Chene M. Thompson of
Pavese Law Firm, Ft. Myers; and Trey Crawford and Haleigh Jones
of Crawford, Wishnew & Lang, Dallas, Texas, for Appellant.
Stuart C. Markman, Robert W. Ritsch, and Kristin A. Norse of
Kynes, Markman & Felman, P.A., Tampa, for Appellees Realmark
Meta, LLC; Realmark Marina Grill, LLC; Realmark Marina View
South, LLC; Realmark Marina View South II, LLC; Realmark
Parking Services One, LLC; Realmark Parking Services Two, LLC;
and Realmark Cape Marina, LLC.
No appearance for remaining Appellees.
BLACK, Judge.
SHM Cape Harbour, LLC, challenges the final judgment
entered in favor of the Realmark Defendants.1 SHM first challenges
the trial court's entry of final summary judgment in favor of the
Realmark Defendants based on its determination that as a matter of
law a 2003 reciprocal easement agreement among three entities is
not binding on one of the entities' successors. SHM next challenges
the court's entry of final summary judgment in favor of the
Realmark Defendants based on its determinations that SHM does
not own the fuel tanks and fuel lines at issue and is not entitled to
an easement allowing for use of those tanks and lines. We reverse
1 The Realmark Defendants are Realmark META, LLC;
Realmark Marina Grill, LLC; Realmark Marina View South, LLC;
Realmark Marina View South II, LLC; Realmark Parking Services
One, LLC; Realmark Parking Services Two, LLC; and Realmark
Cape Marina, LLC. These seven entities are the appellees who have
appeared here and will be referred to collectively as the Realmark
Defendants.
2
the final judgment and remand for proceedings consistent with this
opinion.2
I. The 2003 Easement
In 2003, Realmark Cape Marina, LLC (Marina), Realmark
Marina Grill, LLC (Grill), and Realmark META, LLC (META), entered
into a reciprocal parking easement. Each entity owned a parcel of
land in the planned development project known as Cape Harbour.3
At the time, all three entities were controlled by one person—
William Stout. In 2014, in a self-described "deed in lieu of
foreclosure" transaction, Marina—through Mr. Stout—agreed to
deed the Marina Parcel to the CRE Entities.4 The conveyance did
not include the parking facilities located on the META Parcel,
which, by 2014, were owned and operated by entities also
2 In entering the final summary judgment on the 2003
easement, the trial court recognized that the two final summary
judgments together constituted the final judgment as between SHM
and the Realmark Defendants, rendering the case ripe for appeal.
3 The Cape Harbour land was initially purchased by Marina.
In 2002, Marina conveyed one parcel to META (the META Parcel),
and on July 25, 2003, the day the easement was executed, Marina
conveyed a second parcel to Grill (the Grill Parcel).
4 The CRE Entities are CRE Cape Harbour Marina, LLC; CRE
Cape Harbour Land, LLC; and CRE GS CL23, LLC.
3
controlled by Mr. Stout. The CRE Entities conveyed the Marina
Parcel to SHM in 2017. SHM owns the Marina Parcel and is the
successor in title to Realmark Cape Marina, LLC. Realmark Marina
Grill, LLC, remains the owner of the Grill Parcel.
Simplifying the facts, after SHM purchased the Marina Parcel,
the Realmark Defendants began charging for parking in the
facilities located on the META Parcel. SHM then brought an action
against the Realmark Defendants, alleging in part that the 2003
reciprocal easement was being violated and seeking, among other
claims, declaratory relief.
In the motion for summary judgment as to SHM's easement
claims, the Realmark Defendants argued that the 2003 easement is
unambiguous and must be read in its favor. The trial court agreed
and granted the motion.5 The trial court determined that the 2003
reciprocal easement does not inure to the benefit of the owners of
the Marina Parcel or the Grill Parcel or their respective successors
5 Notably, in April 2018, the trial court had denied SHM's
motion for summary judgment, finding—without elaboration—that
there were material issues of disputed fact as to all claims. Four
months later, the Realmark Defendants moved for summary
judgment on essentially the same facts, and the court later granted
the motion.
4
and assigns; that the easement is extinguished and abandoned as
to successors and assigns of META and is not an easement,
perpetual or otherwise, over the META Parcel; and that the
easement does not run with the land and does not in any way
encumber the META Parcel.
In its primary argument as to the judgment addressing the
2003 reciprocal easement, SHM directs this court's attention to
three critical paragraphs within the easement and contends that
the easement is unambiguous and must be read as binding upon
META's successors, and therefore in favor of SHM, as a matter of
law. SHM is correct; the easement is unambiguous and dictates
that the benefits and burdens run with the land and are binding
upon subsequent owners of any part of the land subject to the
easement. Thus, while the trial court correctly determined that the
easement is unambiguous, it incorrectly construed and applied the
unambiguous language as a matter of law.6
6 Because we conclude that reversal is required on the basis
that the easement is unambiguous in favor of SHM, we do not
address SHM's alternative argument that the trial court erred in
weighing and considering extrinsic evidence to construe the
easement except to note that an inquiry into intent cannot be done
on summary judgment. See Frazier v. Schenck, 503 So. 2d 444,
5
The three paragraphs that are critical to the resolution of this
issue are paragraphs 1, 4, and 7 of the easement. Paragraph 1 has
three subparagraphs, each setting forth one party's grant of rights.
Paragraph 1(c), setting forth the rights META has granted to Marina
and Grill, provides in relevant part:
META hereby grants to Grill and Marina and to their
respective guests, invitees, licensees, agents,
tenants, employees, officers, directors, successors
and assigns, a perpetual, non-exclusive easement for: (i)
use of any parking areas that may now or hereafter be
constructed, from time to time, within the META parcel;
and (ii) vehicular ingress and egress over, through and
across any roadways that may now or hereafter be
constructed, from time to time, within the META parcel;
and (iii) pedestrian ingress and egress over, through and
across any walkways that may now or hereafter be
constructed, from time to time, within the META Parcel.
(Emphasis added.) Paragraphs 1(a) and 1(b) are identical in
substance to 1(c) save for the respective positions of the parties:
paragraph 1(a) sets forth the grant of rights from Marina to Grill
and META, and paragraph 1(b) sets forth the grant of rights from
Grill to Marina and META.
446 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987) (rejecting the contention "that the
unrebutted affidavit of [the grantee/servient estate owner] setting
forth his subjective intent is determinative" as to the scope of the
easement on summary judgment).
6
Paragraph 4 provides:
This Easement Agreement shall become effective upon its
recordation in the Public Records of Lee County, Florida,
and shall run with the land, regardless whether
specifically mentioned in any subsequent deed or
conveyance of all or a part of the land and shall be
binding on all persons subsequently acquiring all or
part of the land. This Easement Agreement may be
amended or modified only by an instrument signed by
the owners of each of the parcels. No amendment shall
become effective prior to a duly executed and
acknowledged copy being recorded in the Public Records
of Lee County, Florida.
(Emphasis added.) Finally, paragraph 7 provides: "The Easement
Agreement shall inure to the benefit of, and be binding upon,
Marina and Grill and their respective successors and/or
assigns." (Emphasis added.)
The burden is on the party moving for summary judgment to
prove "that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and
that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law."
Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(c) (2020); accord Tank Tech, Inc. v. Valley Tank
Testing, L.L.C., 244 So. 3d 383, 389 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018) (first citing
Holl v. Talcott, 191 So. 2d 40, 43 (Fla. 1966); and then quoting
Volusia County v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So. 2d 126,
7
130 (Fla. 2000)).7 We review orders granting summary judgment de
novo. Tank Tech, 244 So. 3d at 389. Likewise, we review a trial
court's construction of an easement de novo. Dep't of Transp. v. Fla.
Gas Transmission Co., 126 So. 3d 1095, 1102 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)
(citing Terrill v. Coe, 1 So. 3d 223, 225 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008)).
"The construction or interpretation of an easement is not
evidentiary; it is a matter of law." Hillsborough County v. Kortum,
585 So. 2d 1029, 1031 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991) (citing Shadow W.
Apartments, Ltd. v. Dep't of Transp., 498 So. 2d 589, 590 (Fla. 2d
DCA 1986)). That is, "it is not dependent upon the resolution of an
evidentiary contest." Shadow W. Apartments, 498 So. 2d at 590-91
(citing Kotick v. Durant, 196 So. 802, 804 (Fla. 1940)). And "[c]ourts
must 'construe contracts in such a way as to give reasonable
meaning to all provisions,' rather than leaving part of the contract
7 We note that the summary judgment standard has changed
since the trial court entered the judgments at issue in this case.
The Florida Supreme Court amended Florida Rule of Civil Procedure
1.510(c) to adopt a new summary judgment standard. See In re
Amends. to Fla. Rule of Civil Proc. 1.510, 309 So. 3d 192, 193-95
(Fla. 2020) (adopting the federal summary judgment standard). The
amendment, which became effective on May 1, 2021, does not affect
our review. See Wilsonart, LLC v. Lopez, 308 So. 3d 961, 964 (Fla.
2020) (stating that the amendment to rule 1.510(c) applies
prospectively).
8
useless." Publix Super Mkts., Inc. v. Wilder Corp. of Del., 876 So. 2d
652, 654 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004) (quoting Hardwick Props., Inc. v.
Newbern, 711 So. 2d 35, 40 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)).
Where the interpretation or construction of a written
instrument and the legal effect to be drawn from the
instrument is at issue, the appellate court is not
restricted in its ability to reassess the meaning and effect
of the instrument, and the appellate court may reach a
conclusion contrary to the conclusion of the trial court.
Smith v. Frontier Commc'ns Int'l, Inc., 805 So. 2d 975, 977 (Fla. 2d
DCA 2001) (citing Angell v. Don Jones Ins. Agency, 620 So. 2d 1012,
1014 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)).
"[A]n easement is a right to use another's land 'for some
particular purpose or purposes.' " Buie v. Bluebird Landing Owner's
Ass'n, 172 So. 3d 519, 522 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015) (quoting One Harbor
Fin. Ltd. v. Hynes Props., LLC, 884 So. 2d 1039, 1044 (Fla. 5th DCA
2004)). "[A]n appurtenant easement is a permanent easement
running with the land and passes as an incident to it." Morris v.
Winbar LLC, 273 So. 3d 176, 178-79 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019) (first
citing McCorquodale v. Keyton, 63 So. 2d 906, 910 (Fla. 1953); and
then citing Esbin v. Erickson, 987 So. 2d 198, 201 (Fla. 3d DCA
2008)).
9
In this case, the purpose of the easement is clear: to provide
reciprocal parking rights and pedestrian access. There is no
ambiguity as to intent. Cf. Buie, 172 So. 3d at 522 ("[W]here the
wording is ambiguous such that the scope of the easement cannot
be determined from the plain meaning of the language employed,
the legal extent of the right must be ascertained from the intention
of the parties [when the easement was created]." (second alteration
in original) (quoting Walters v. McCall, 450 So. 2d 1139, 1142 (Fla.
1st DCA 1984))). The language of paragraph 1 unequivocally
establishes a perpetual easement in favor of the parties and their
successors and assigns, and the language of paragraph 4 equally as
unequivocally establishes that the easement is appurtenant and
"binding on all persons subsequently acquiring all or part of the
land." Despite the Realmark Defendants' argument that paragraph
4 is essentially meaningless as boilerplate and generic, it is neither,
as proven by the multitude of cases interpreting easements that do
not specify whether they are perpetual and run with the land. See,
e.g., Devino v. 2436 E. Las Olas, LLC, 306 So. 3d 118, 119-20 (Fla.
4th DCA 2020); Dunes of Seagrove Owners Ass'n v. Dunes of
Seagrove Dev., Inc., 180 So. 3d 1209, 1211 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015).
10
Moreover, even if paragraph 4 were boilerplate and generic, it must
still be given effect and cannot be ignored. See White v. Fort Myers
Beach Fire Control Dist., 302 So. 3d 1064, 1071 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020)
("[A]n interpretation of a contract which gives a reasonable, lawful
and effective meaning to all of the terms is preferred to an
interpretation which leaves a part unreasonable, unlawful, or of no
effect." (quoting Fla. Inv. Grp. 100, LLC v. Lafont, 271 So. 3d 1, 5
(Fla. 4th DCA 2019))).
Likewise, paragraph 7 must be given effect, and while the
Realmark Defendants focus on the absence of META from
paragraph 7 in their argument that the easement is unambiguous
in their favor, they ignore paragraph 7's express language that the
easement "inure[s] to the benefit of" Marina and Grill and their
successors and assigns. The estate that receives the benefit of an
easement is the dominant estate. Esbin, 987 So. 2d at 201. Here,
the Marina and Grill Parcels are the dominant estates as to the
easement over the META Parcel. Thus, as the owner of a servient
estate, META's grant of rights to Marina and Grill "inures to [their]
benefit" as dominant estate owners and is appurtenant rather than
in gross. See id.; see also Hagan v. Sabal Palms, Inc., 186 So. 2d
11
302, 311 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966) ("A covenant is said to run with the
land when either the liability to perform it or the right to take
advantage of it passes to the vendee or other assignee of the land."
(quoting Burdine v. Sewell, 109 So. 648, 654 (Fla. 1926))); Morris,
273 So. 3d at 178 ("An easement is appurtenant when the right
which it represents is attached to and belongs with some greater or
superior right as a dominant estate." (quoting N. Dade Water Co. v.
Fla. State Tpk. Auth., 114 So. 2d 458, 461 (Fla. 3d DCA 1959))).
Moreover, the easement does not prevent transfer. See
Burdine, 109 So. at 654 ("[W]hile the grantee [(dominant estate)]
may at any time relinquish his right of passage, without consulting
the grantor [(servient estate)], the grantor's right to terminate it
must be expressed in the instrument." (quoting Reese Howell Co. v.
Brown, 158 P. 684, 687 (Utah 1916))). And the law of easements is
clear: "Unless prevented by the terms of its creation, an easement
appurtenant is transferred with the dominant property even if this
is not mentioned in the instrument of transfer. Therefore, a person
who succeeds to the possession of the dominant estate is entitled to
enjoy any easement appurtenant thereto." Behm v. Saeli, 560 So.
2d 431, 432 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990) (quoting Jon W. Bruce & James
12
W. Ely, Jr., The Law of Easements and Licenses in Land § 8.01
(1988)); see also Dianne v. Wingate, 84 So. 3d 427, 429-30 (Fla. 1st
DCA 2012) ("The servient estate owner enjoys all rights to the
property, except as limited by the easement, and may use the land
burdened by the easement in any manner that does not
unreasonably interfere with the lawful dominant use." (citing
Kortum, 585 So. 2d at 1033)).
Further, when SHM took title to the Marina Parcel, the
Realmark Defendants were on notice that the easement
appurtenant transferred with it because the easement had been
recorded. See Jewett v. Leisinger, 655 So. 2d 1210, 1211 (Fla. 4th
DCA 1995); Fla. E. Coast Ry. v. Patterson, 593 So. 2d 575, 577 (Fla.
3d DCA 1992); see also Hayslip v. U.S. Home Corp., No. SC19-1371,
2022 WL 247073, at *2 (Fla. Jan. 27, 2022) (recognizing that
pursuant section 695.11, Florida Statutes, "if an instrument is
recorded in the official county records, such recording 'shall be
notice to all persons' "). Applying the law of easements and giving
effect to the language of paragraph 4 in conjunction with the
perpetual reciprocal rights specified in paragraph 1, paragraph 7
can only be reasonably read to bind META's successors and assigns
13
in addition to binding the successors and assigns of Marina and
Grill. This construction gives effect to and reconciles all three
operative paragraphs of the easement while complying with the law
of easements and contract law otherwise. See, e.g., Moore v. State
Farm Mut. Auto. Ins., 916 So. 2d 871, 877 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)
(stating that the court "will not interpret a contract in such a way as
to render provisions meaningless when there is a reasonable
interpretation that does not do so"); Anarkali Boutique, Inc. v. Ortiz,
104 So. 3d 1202, 1205 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) ("A primary rule of
contract construction is that where provisions in an agreement
appear to conflict, they should be construed so as to be reconciled,
if possible." (quoting Arthur Rutenberg Corp. v. Pasin, 506 So. 2d 33,
34 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987))); cf. Am. Med. Int'l, Inc. v. Scheller, 462 So.
2d 1, 7 (Fla. 1984) ("A true ambiguity does not exist merely because
a contract can possibly be interpreted in more than one manner.
Indeed, fanciful, inconsistent, and absurd interpretations of plain
language are always possible. It is the duty of the [courts] to
prevent such interpretations."); Alamo Fin., LP v. Mazoff, 112 So. 3d
626, 630 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013) (stating that substantively
unreasonable interpretations do not render a contract ambiguous).
14
There is no way to give effect and meaning to both paragraph 4
and paragraph 7 and reach the interpretation that the Realmark
Defendants argued and the trial court reached. The three operative
paragraphs of the easement, and the easement as a whole,
unambiguously provide that the rights and benefits described are
appurtenant and for the benefit of Marina's and Grill's successors,
which include SHM. We therefore reverse the final summary
judgment entered in favor of the Realmark Defendants as to the
2003 easement.8
II. The Fuel System
In the operative complaint, SHM identified a singular fuel
system comprised of underground fuel tanks secured by a concrete
pad, two fuel dispenser stations, underground fuel lines running
from the tanks to the dispensers, and a fuel tank monitoring
8 The judgment also provides that the Realmark Defendants
may record a certified copy of the judgment, "including in the public
records of Lee County, Florida, which shall serve as notice to all
that the 2003 Reciprocal Easement does not apply in any way to, is
not binding in any way upon, or encumber [sic] in any way the
META Parcel" or the properties of Realmark Parking Services One
and Two. On remand, the court shall vacate the final summary
judgment and enter all orders necessary to ensure that the official
records and any other place of recordation reflect the continued
existence and binding effect of the 2003 reciprocal easement.
15
system. SHM alleged that the dispensers and monitoring system
are above ground and located on the Marina Parcel and that the
fuel lines run under both the Marina Parcel and the Grill Parcel.
SHM contended that the fuel system cannot be separated into
component parts. It also set forth certain undisputed facts,
including that Marina conveyed the Grill Parcel to Grill on July 25,
2003, the same day that the entities entered into the reciprocal
easement agreement but after the first steps in the purchase and
construction of the fuel system had been completed, and that in
June 2003, when the notice of commencement for construction of
the fuel system was executed, Marina owned both the Marina Parcel
and the Grill Parcel. The 2003 deed from Marina to Grill did not
reference the anticipated fuel system.
In their answer, the Realmark Defendants denied that there is
a singular fuel system, that the fuel system was constructed on the
Marina Parcel, and that the fuel dispensers, fuel monitoring system,
and the majority of the fuel lines running from the dispensers to the
tanks are located on the Marina Parcel. The Realmark Defendants
also denied that Marina filed a notice of commencement with the
state indicating that Marina owned the property upon which the
16
fuel system was to be constructed, but they admitted that a storage
tank facility registration form for the fuel system was filed following
construction and installation of the fuel system.
In its motion for summary judgment, the Realmark
Defendants argued that it was undisputed that the fuel tanks and
fuel lines are located on the Grill Parcel, that the fuel tanks and fuel
lines are fixtures, and that no conveyance, easement, or license
entitled SHM to encroach on the Grill Parcel. The Realmark
Defendants addressed SHM's contention that the fuel system could
not be separated into its component parts only tangentially through
its argument that the fuel system was never conveyed to SHM. The
motion rested on three suppositions: (1) the fuel tanks and lines are
on the Grill Parcel; (2) the fuel tanks and lines are separable, such
that there is not a singular fuel system; and (3) the fuel tanks and
lines are fixtures.
In opposition to the motion, SHM contended, as it had in its
complaint, (1) that the location of the fuel tanks was in dispute,
referencing and attaching record documents indicating that the fuel
tanks were on both the Marina Parcel and the Grill Parcel; (2) that
the fuel lines were on both the Marina Parcel and the Grill Parcel;
17
(3) that Marina had owned the singular fuel system and had
conveyed it to the CRE Entites and that the CRE Entities
subsequently conveyed the singular fuel system to SHM, attaching
record documents establishing that real and personal property had
been conveyed from Marina to Grill and from Marina to the CRE
Entities and which identified fuel tanks as existing on the property
being sold; and (4) that whether the fuel tanks and lines are fixtures
is a factual determination.
The trial court found that underground fuel tanks and fuel
lines were installed on the Grill Parcel in 2004. This is a disputed
issue of material fact, which the Realmark Defendants appear to
concede, in part: in their brief before this court, the Realmark
Defendants state that "the court knew SHM had presented evidence
showing a small portion of one tank may be on SHM's land." SHM
presented record evidence suggesting that more than a small
portion of one tank may be on the Marina Parcel; the evidence
suggests that a significant portion of the tanks, including half of the
anchors, the underground enclosure and support structures, and
three of the ports to fill the tanks are located on the Marina Parcel.
18
SHM also presented evidence that the fuel lines are on both the
Marina Parcel and the Grill Parcel.
The trial court also found that the fuel tanks and the fuel lines
are annexed to the Grill Parcel and permanently affixed to the Grill
Parcel for the purpose for which they are intended, such that the
fuel tanks and fuel lines are fixtures of the Grill Parcel. But that is
a factual determination which cannot be made at summary
judgment: "The question of whether property is personalty or
fixtures is a question of fact for determination by the trier of
fact . . . ." Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Bay Bank & Tr. Co., 537 So. 2d
1041, 1042 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989) (citing First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n
v. Stovall, 289 So. 2d 32, 33 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974)); see also Rompon
Props., Inc. v. Langelier, 341 So. 2d 1068, 1069 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977)
("The characterization of property as chattel or fixture is a fact
question to be determined according to the testimony and other
evidence presented."); cf. Rally's Hamburgers, Inc. v. Dep't of
Transp., 697 So. 2d 535, 537 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997) ("Appellant's
claim that the equipment constituted 'trade fixtures' therefore
created a material factual dispute that precluded the entry of partial
19
summary final judgment . . . .").9 Moreover, the dispute over the
location of the fuel tanks and the apparent fact that the fuel lines
are on both parcels affects the determination of whether the tanks
and lines are fixtures.10
9 The Realmark Defendants argue that the trial court's
determination is of no moment because it included an "even if not
fixtures" conclusion. But the fuel tanks and lines being fixtures is a
premise upon which the Realmark Defendants sought summary
judgment. And "appellate courts have repeatedly held that it is
reversible error to enter summary judgment on a ground not raised
with particularity in the motion." Rossman v. Wallick, 301 So. 3d
493, 494 (Fla. 5th DCA 2020); see also State Farm Auto. Ins. v.
Lyde, 267 So. 3d 453, 461 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018) (declining to address
alternative basis for summary judgment not raised below).
10 This is illustrated by considering the definition of a fixture.
See Com. Fin. Co. v. Brooksville Hotel Co., 123 So. 814, 816 (Fla.
1929) ("A fixture is an article which was a chattel, but which, by
being physically annexed or affixed to the realty by some one [sic]
having an interest in the soil, becomes part and parcel of it."). In
this case, to which parcel the tanks and lines would be annexed is
unclear, both based on their respective locations and on which
entity had an interest in the soil. See, e.g., Zimring-McKenzie
Constr. Co. v. City of Pinellas Park, 237 So. 2d 576, 578-79 (Fla. 2d
DCA 1970); Country Manors Ass'n v. Master Antenna Sys., Inc., 458
So. 2d 835, 837 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Strickland's Mayport, Inc. v.
Kingsley Bank, 449 So. 2d 928, 929 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). The
fixture issue is also relevant to the trial court's determination that
SHM did not have an easement related to the fuel tanks and fuel
lines. Although we decline to specifically address SHM's arguments
as to that determination, we note that our reversal may require
reconsideration of whether an easement related to the fuel tanks
and fuel lines exists.
20
Both of these findings—that the fuel tanks and fuel lines are
on the Grill Parcel and fixtures thereto—necessarily require that the
tanks and lines are separable components such that there is not a
singular fuel system. But that is also a disputed issue of fact in
this case. Cf. Country Manors Ass'n. v. Master Antenna Sys., Inc.,
458 So. 2d 835, 837 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984) (holding that based on
evidence and testimony presented "the underground system,
together with the connections and installations within the walls," as
a single system, was not a fixture).
Summary judgment "should only be granted 'where the facts
are "so crystalized" that nothing remains but questions of law.' "
Ventana Condo. Ass'n v. Chancey Design P'ship, 203 So. 3d 175,
183 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (quoting McCabe v. Fla. Power & Light Co.,
68 So. 3d 995, 997 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)). "If the record raises even
the slightest doubt that an issue might exist, summary judgment is
precluded." Schornberg v. Panorama Custom Home Builders, Inc.,
972 So. 2d 243, 245 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007) (quoting Pasco v. City of
Oldsmar, 953 So. 2d 766, 769 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)). There are very
few facts clearly established as to the fuel system or its component
parts. Thus, summary judgment should not have been entered.
21
Based on the foregoing, the final judgment is reversed; on
remand, the trial court shall conduct proceedings consistent with
this opinion, including vacating the final judgment and ensuring
that the public records indicate such vacatur.
Reversed and remanded.
SMITH and LABRIT, JJ., Concur.
Opinion subject to revision prior to official publication.
22