Alabama Supreme Court hears appeal over curb cut, crosswalk and 2018 easement on Dan Hudson Drive

The Supreme Court of Alabama heard oral arguments on an appeal by 790 Montclair LLC challenging the trial court's denial of a preliminary injunction that would have barred The Station at Crestline Heights LLC from making a curb cut and ADA crosswalk on Dan Hudson Drive, a lawyer for 790 Montclair said.

The dispute centers on the meaning of a 2018 reciprocal easement created when a hospital campus was split and whether the easement language for "access facilities" and Exhibit C allows the Station to alter sidewalks and curbs without 790 Montclair's written consent. The question matters for the parties' property rights and for a development the appellees say cost roughly $60 million and is substantially complete.

At argument, Carl Smiley, attorney for 790 Montclair LLC, told the court the principal issue is interpretation of an unambiguous easement. "This case is about the meaning and effect of an unambiguous easement," Smiley said, arguing that the trial court misconstrued the easement and therefore abused its discretion in denying a preliminary injunction. Smiley asked the court to rule that the phrase "access facilities" in the 2018 easement includes sidewalks and the curb segment that the Station removed and replaced when creating the new entrance. "We need a ruling that access facilities as used in the 2018 easement includes that sidewalk and…