American Benefit Corp. as Trustee of the Josiah Mem. Trust v. Parking Co. of Am.

The defendants failed to appear either at the pretrial conference or at trial and failed to submit a pretrial order.

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In this dispute concerning title to a parcel of real property, the American Benefit Corporation “ABC”, Potomac National Corporation “Potomac”, and Adeola Oni appeal from a trial court order that, among other things, entered a default judgment against ABC and Potomac and declared that Parking Company of America and others1 “the plaintiffs” have legal title to the disputed property. For the reasons that follow, we affirm in part and reverse in part. The record reveals that the parties are adjoining land owners and/or parties with an interest in the land. The portion of the parcel of property in dispute is a 748-square-foot tract the “corner parcel” in the northeast corner of a 10,876-square-foot tract. The parties do not dispute that the larger tract is owned by the plaintiffs and used as a parking lot. The plaintiffs alleged that they “may not have record title” to the corner parcel, but that they are “the rightful holders of title” to it. The plaintiffs alleged further that the property, including the corner parcel, was used for a furniture store from 1924 to 1993, and that in 1993 the store was demolished and the property has since been used as a parking lot.

The plaintiffs’ complaint claimed that in 2002, Oni removed a stone retaining wall which ran along the northern border of the plaintiffs’ property, destroyed landscaping, constructed a concrete berm on the property, and installed chain link fence cutting off the plaintiffs’ access to the corner parcel and main road by way of an alley. They also claimed that in 2004, Oni extended the chain link fence further blocking their access.

American Benefit Corp. as Trustee of the Josiah Mem. Trust v. Parking Co. of Am.

The defendants failed to appear either at the pretrial conference or at trial and failed to submit a pretrial order.

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