Xi Properties, Inc v. Racetrac Petroleum, Inc.

151 S.W.3d 443 (2004)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D owned land, which included a gas station, an adjoining parking lot, and an additional 3.221 acres of unimproved land. While constructing the gas station and parking lot on the property, D added fill dirt to level an area for the parking lot and to create a sloped embankment to support the sides of the parking lot. D then sold the 3.221-acre portion of the property to P. D inadvertently conveyed the sloped embankment and a portion of the parking lot to P. This discrepancy went unnoticed until 1999 when P began making preparations to develop their property. P determined that their development plans would require removal of a portion of the sloped embankment supporting D's parking lot. D objected to the plans, giving rise to the current dispute. P filed a declaratory judgment action. The trial court concluded that the plaintiffs had a duty to provide naturally necessary lateral support to the adjoining land, but that duty was only for naturally necessary support and did not extend to property that had been altered and now required additional support. D's land was not in its natural condition, and the court granted P's motion for summary judgment, declaring that P owed a duty of lateral support only with respect to that portion of the land still in its natural state. P could excavate the sloped embankment down to the point where it became land in its natural state, without owing any duty of support to D's adjoining property. The Court of Appeals affirmed. D appealed.