Alabama Supreme Court Hears Appeal Over Dan Hudson Drive Easement, Curb Cut and Sidewalk Removal

The Supreme Court of Alabama heard oral argument in case SC20240100 over whether a 2018 reciprocal easement bars a curb cut and sidewalk removed on Dan Hudson Drive for a 277-unit apartment project in Birmingham.

The dispute centers on the meaning of "access facilities" in the 2018 easement and whether the trial court erred in denying appellant 790 Montclair LLC a preliminary injunction to stop the developer(the Station and related owners) from using the curb cut and crosswalk. "This case is about the meaning and effect of an unambiguous easement," Carl Smiley, attorney for appellant 790 Montclair LLC, told the court. "We need a ruling that access facilities as used in the 2018 easement includes that sidewalk and curb that the Station demolished and replaced."

The appellant argues the easement's Section 3 prohibition on altering "access facilities" applies to the sidewalk and curb the developer removed and that the trial court misread the document by applying a "materially interfere" standard instead of enforcing the plain terms. In response, Patrick Miller, attorney for the appellees, said the 2018 instrument expressly grants the Station an easement for "ingress, egress, and access using Dan Hudson Drive and the other access facilities that are depicted in Exhibit C," and he argued a curb cut and an…