Robinson v. Tindill

Citations

• 208 Conn. App. 255

Syllabus

The plaintiffs, who owned residential property adjacent to that of the defen- dants, T and E, sought declaratory and injunctive relief and damages for trespass resulting from T's construction of a fence that encroached on the plaintiffs' property. The parties previously had constructed privacy fences on their properties on opposite sides and within inches of a chain-link fence that was located on a portion of the boundary line between their backyards. T thereafter constructed an extension to the defendants' privacy fence and, without the plaintiffs' permission, removed portions of the chain-link fence. T also constructed a split rail fence that extended the privacy fence along or near the boundary line. A surveyor thereafter found that a portion of the split rail fence encroached on the plaintiffs' property. The defendants filed special defenses alleging that they were entitled to establish a divisional fence, pursuant to statute (§ 47-43), on the boundary of their property. The defendants further claimed that § 47-43 permitted placement of the fence on the plaintiffs' property. The trial court granted the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment as to liability, finding against the defendants on the plaintiffs' claim of trespass, and against T for conversion as to the chain-link fence. The court concluded that a majority of the length of the fences T constructed was not located on the dividing line of the parties' properties and, thus, could not be considered a divisional fence pursuant to § 47-43. After a hearing in damages, the court granted the plaintiffs injunctive relief and awarded them nominal damages for con- version as to the chain-link fence and for trespass as to the split rail fence. On appeal, the defendants claimed, inter alia, that the court erred in finding them liable for trespass because the fence at issue was compliant with § 47-43. Held: 1. The defendants could not prevail on their claim that the trial court improp- erly found them liable for tre