Bailey v. Preserve Rural Roads of Madison County, Inc.
2011 Ky. LEXIS 175
| Ky. | 2011Background
- Madison Fiscal Court discontinued maintenance on Dunbar Branch Road under KRS 178.070 due to cost, while Appellant Bailey had gates across the road.
- Appellees Tate and Rural Roads sued to keep the road open and to force removal of Bailey's gates; Wall is a Rural Roads member with ownership along the road.
- Circuit Court granted summary judgment for the fiscal court on discontinuance and later for Appellees on the gates; Bailey appeals.
- Court of Appeals held Appellees had standing and no taking; majority of Kentucky Supreme Court granted discretionary review.
- The Court addressed associational standing, public easement implications under KRS 178.070 and 178.116, and potential takings under the Kentucky and U.S. Constitutions.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Rural Roads has associational standing | Rural Roads has standing through Wall as a member. | Rural Roads must prove Wall’s membership and consent; otherwise no standing. | Rural Roads has associational standing. |
| Whether Tate has standing to challenge the gates | Tate has a present and substantial interest due to close public need and access | Tate lacks ownership/residency along the road and injury is public, not individual | Tate lacks standing as to individual injunctive claims |
| Whether discontinuance of county maintenance terminated the public easement | Discontinuance terminates the public easement and reverts road to owners | KRS 178.116 governs reversion and public road status; certain scenarios keep public openness | Discontinuance did not extinguish the public easement; road remains open as a public road |
| Whether the rulings constitute an unlawful taking | Maintenance costs and continued open status impose burdens constituting a taking | Property owners have no right to ongoing maintenance; the state cannot be compelled to fund it as a taking | No unconstitutional taking; costs and open status are governed by KRS 178.070 and 178.116 |
Key Cases Cited
- Warren County Citizens for Managed Growth, Inc. v. Bd. of Comm’rs of Bowling Green, 207 S.W.3d 7 (Ky.App.2006) (standing based on aggrievement from obstruction of a road)
- Kemper v. Cooke, 576 S.W.2d 263 (Ky.App.1979) (injury must be special and peculiar to property owner to gain standing)
- Commonwealth, Dept. of Highways v. Jackson, 302 S.W.2d 373 (Ky.1957) (reasonable access doctrine for landowners along a road)
- Waller v. Syck, 142 S.W. 229 (Ky.1912) (abandonment of a road may revert land to owners if roadbed held as easement)
- Sarver v. Allen County, 582 S.W.2d 40 (Ky.1979) (public road status and court processes regarding reversion)
- Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Ass’n, Inc. v. Wingate, 320 S.W.3d 692 (Ky.2010) (associational standing framework in Kentucky)
- iMEGA I, 306 S.W.3d 32 (Ky.2010) (first-in-state articulation of associational standing requirements)
- Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Comm’n, 432 U.S. 333 (U.S. Supreme Court, 1977) (three-part test for associational standing)
- Ashland F.O.P. No. 3, Inc. v. City of Ashland, 888 S.W.2d 667 (Ky.1994) (membership certainty when organization represents majority of members)
- Sierra Club v. Morton, 405 U.S. 727 (U.S. Supreme Court, 1972) (organization standing requires member-specific injury or consent)