XI Properties, Inc. v. Racetrac Petroleum, Inc.

RaceTrac (defendant) filled part of its land to build a gas-station parking lot and built a sloped embankment along the lot's edge for support. When RaceTrac later sold a portion of its land to XI Properties (plaintiff), the deed inadvertently included the embankment and part of the parking lot. XI Properties gave RaceTrac 30 days' notice of its plan to remove the embankment; after RaceTrac objected, XI Properties sought a declaratory judgment that it had no duty to maintain the support. The trial court agreed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed while adding that XI Properties still could not excavate negligently.

Whether a landowner has a duty to provide lateral support to adjoining land that has been altered from its natural state.