CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed a circuit court judgment involving a party wall agreement between party owners.
This appeal concerns a party wall agreement between adjoining property owners in Beckley — Sarah L. Bitchfield, who owns a commercial building that shares a party wall with the adjacent property owned or formerly owned by Zen’s Development LLC, Uptown Properties LLC and Kenneth McBride Jr.
"Petitioner’s lawsuit against these three Respondents included claims for negligence and breach of the party wall agreement," the opinion states. "The circuit court granted summary judgment to all three Respondents on the breach of the party wall agreement claim, and it granted summary judgment to Respondent Uptown and Respondent McBride on Petitioner’s negligence claim."
Armstead
On appeal, the petitioner raised 11 assignments of error contesting the circuit court’s ruling granting summary judgment in favor of the respondents. The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's decision.
Justice Tim Armstead authored the opinion. Judge Thomas Ewing sat by temporary assignment, as Justice John Hutchison recused himself from the case.
Birchfield purchased the property in 2007. The following year, a fire significantly damaged the building in Lot 5, beside her property, and that when she arrived at the building the following day, her basement was flooded and she had to fire a contractor to remove the water.
The building on Lot 5 was demolished and the party wall was left exposed and McBride sold the property to Uptown, who build a restaurant. In 2012, the property was again sold.
Birchfield filed a complaint in 2015 and the circuit court granted summary judgment to the three defendants in the case. Birchfield then appealed.
"We find no error in the circuit court’s reliance on cases from outside of our jurisdiction," Armstead wrote. "While Petitioner cites a number of cases from West Virginia that concern party walls, none of these cases directly address the rights, duties, and obligations of a party."
The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's 2020 order.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals case number: 20-0075
