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Carrollsburg v. Anderson2/14/2002
Id. at 856 (quoting Carr v. Rose, 701 A.2d 1065, 1070 (D.C. 1997) (citations omitted)). We also emphasized that, " uch a judgment . . . 'estops not only as to every ground of recovery or defense actually presented in the action, but also as to every ground which might have been presented.'" Id. (quoting Carr, supra, 701 A.2d at 1070 (citing Molovinsky v. Monterey Coop., 689 A.2d 531, 533 (D.C. 1997))).
Here, appellants' claim not only arises out of the same unambiguous 1964 Accessory Parking Covenant that was at issue in Taylor, supra, but also is based on the precise provision that was interpreted in that case and concerns the same underground parking garage. The claim also involves essentially the same parties, and appellants could have broached the question of a monthly maintenance parking fee in Taylor, supra. Since they did not, the judgment in Taylor estops them from raising it in this case. Furthermore, even assuming that the appellees did not properly raise the res judicata defense, its application to this case did not constitute error. Although "res judicata is an affirmative defense that must be pleaded, not raised sua sponte," Mowbray v. Cameron County, Texas, 274 F.3d 269, 281 (5th Cir. 2001) (citation omitted), a trial court may raise res judicata grounds sua sponte "in the interest of judicial economy where[,as here,] both actions were brought before the same court." Id. (citing Boone v. Kurtz, 617 F.2d 435, 436 (5th Cir. 1980) (other citation omitted)). Thus, we detect no error in the trial court's ruling, even if sua sponte, that appellants' claim for a monthly maintenance fee for underground parking is barred by the doctrine of res judicata.
The remaining point to be addressed concerns the relocation of appellees' access to the Carrollsburg underground parking spaces from the interior lobbies and elevators of the Carrollsburg Condominium to exterior ramps, and the appropriateness of this matter for summary judgment. The 1964 Accessory Parking Covenant did not explicitly provide for access to underground parking through the lobbies and elevators of the Carrollsburg Condominium. Nonetheless, the trial court determined that: " he use of the lobbies and elevators of the high-rise apartment buildings for over thirty years is convincing evidence that entry to the garage via the lobbies and elevators was considered by all to be a reasonable use of and access to the easement despite the Covenant's lack of specific reference to the path of access."
We review the relocation of access issue de novo. We hold that the trial court did not err by concluding as a matter of law that the Carrollsburg Square owners were entitled to legal access to their underground parking spaces through the Carrollsburg Condominium lobbies and elevators because of an express easement. Approximately thirty-five years ago, the Court of Appeals of Maryland recognized that continuous use of a right of way, without opposition, may fix the location:
Where an easement in land, such as a way, is granted in general terms, without giving definite location and description of it, the location may be subsequently fixed by an express agreement of the parties, or by an implied agreement arising out of the use of a particular way by the grantee and acquiescence on the part of the grantor, provided the way is located within the boundaries of the land over which the right is granted. As otherwise expressed, it is a familiar rule that, when a right of way is granted without defined limits, the practical location and use of such way by the grantee under his deed acquisced in for a long time by the grantor will operate to fix the location. The location thus determined will have the same legal effect as though
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