Automated Summary
Key Facts
Lisa Cruz, a residential landowner in Brookgreen Terrace subdivision, filed an action against Heyward and Kathy Bouknight to enforce the Subdivision's restrictive covenants, which prohibit trailers. The main issue was whether a manufactured home qualifies as a trailer under the covenants. The special referee ruled in favor of Cruz, and the court affirmed, determining that the term 'trailer' as used in the 1954 covenants included mobile homes (now known as manufactured homes). The court referenced dictionary definitions and legal precedents to support this interpretation, noting that the terms 'trailer', 'mobile home', and 'manufactured home' are considered equivalent for the purposes of the covenants. Appellants also argued that the court's order to remove the home was incorrect, but this issue was not preserved for appeal.
Issues
- The central issue was whether a manufactured home falls under the definition of 'trailer' in the 1954 restrictive covenants, which prohibited trailers. The court analyzed historical definitions and legal precedents to determine if the term 'trailer' encompassed mobile or manufactured homes.
- A second issue was whether the covenants' prohibition on trailers only barred their use as residences or also their presence on the property. The court found this argument was not preserved for review because it was not addressed by the special referee.
Holdings
- The court found Appellants failed to preserve the issue regarding the removal of the manufactured home, as it was not ruled on by the special referee, citing Herron v. Century BMW for issue preservation requirements.
- The court affirmed that a manufactured home is considered a trailer under the 1954 restrictive covenants, citing historical definitions and prior cases (e.g., Heape v. Broxton) to support the conclusion that the term 'trailer' unambiguously includes manufactured homes.
Remedies
The court affirmed the special referee's decision to enforce the restrictive covenants prohibiting trailers and ordered the removal of the manufactured home from the property as relief.
Legal Principles
- The court applied the Literal Rule of contract interpretation to determine that the term 'trailer' in the restrictive covenants included manufactured homes, based on the common, ordinary meaning of the word at the time the covenants were recorded in 1954. It emphasized that unambiguous language in covenants must be enforced according to their obvious meaning.
- The Purposive Approach was utilized to ascertain the intent of the parties to the covenants, focusing on the meaning of 'trailer' as understood in 1954. The court considered historical definitions and legal precedents to align the interpretation with the parties' likely objectives.
Precedent Name
- Henry v. Chambron
- Shipyard Prop. Owners' Ass'n v. Mangiaracina
- Buffington v. T.O.E. Enters.
- Palmetto Dunes Resort v. Brown
- Heape v. Broxton
- Taylor v. Lindsey
- Herron v. Century BMW
Cited Statute
- South Carolina Code Annotated
- South Carolina Code
- Housing and Development Act of 1980
Judge Name
- CURTIS
- Brian L. Boger
- THOMAS
- WILLIAMS, C.J.
Passage Text
- trailer, Thorndike-Barnhart Dictionary (1954) (defining trailer as "a vehicle, often large, designed to be pulled along the highway by an automobile, truck"); house trailer, Oxford English Dictionary (defining house trailer as "a caravan or mobile home"); mobile home, Oxford English Dictionary (defining mobile home as "a large caravan or prefabricated transportable structure that is parked in a particular place and used as permanent living accommodation"); see also Oxford English Dictionary (citing 1954 New York Herald Tribune Book Review reference to "trailer houses – or mobile homes" and 1940 H.G. Wells reference to "mobile home in recent years. People haul a trailer-home behind their cars").
- S.C. Code § 40-29-20(9) (2011) ("'Manufactured home' means a structure, transportable in one or more sections which... is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained in it." (emphasis added)).
- We similarly find that a manufactured home is the modern version of what was formerly known as a house trailer.