Easements Flashcards
What are the ways to create Easements?
Prescription, Implied, Necessity, Grant
How is an easement by grant created?
Express written document with same formalities as a deed
How is an easement by prescription created?
Adverse, Overt, hostile, and continuous use of the easement for the relevant statutory period (landowner’s consent destroys ability to obtain an easement by prescription)
What are the types of easement?
(1) Affirmative: permission to onto servant land and do something
(2) negative: easement holder can prevent something from being done on the servant land
What are the characteristics of an easement appurtenant?
(1) includes two pieces of land (one dominant, one servant)
(2) holder enjoys benefit in use of land
What are the characteristics of an easement in gross?
(1) only involves one piece of land (the servant land)
(2) holder enjoys some pecuniary/ personal advantage, not related to the land
(3) only transferrable if commercial
Is an easement appurtenant transferable?
Yes, it transfers automatically (even if not mentioned in the deed) with the dominant and servient lands; but it will not pass with the servient land if the new owner is a BFP w/o notice
When is an easement implied by pre-existing use?
(1) prior to the land being divided, use on the servient parcel was apparent and continuous; AND
(2) parties expected the use would survive the division of the land because it is necessary to the dominant estate’s use
When is an easement by necessity implied?
(1) landowner conveys a portion of her land; (2) with no access to public roads/ utility; (3) except over some part of the grantor’s land
How is an easement terminated?
Estoppel; Necessity; Destruction; Condemnation; Release; Abandonment; Merger; Prescription (ENDCRAMP)
How does an easement holder terminate the easement by abandonment?
(1) physical action (i.e. blocking off access to the easement; and (2) intent to never use the easement again (generally mere nonuse is insufficient but long period of nonuse with oral expressions to abandon may be sufficient)
what is the result of a failed attempt to create an easement?
a license
What is the scope of an easement?
- Scope is determined by terms of grant or conditions creating it
- misuse / excess use results in a surcharge of the easement
- overuse of misuse doesn’t terminate easement but remedy for servient owner is injunction against misuse
What is required for an easement to effectively be terminated by merger?
Complete unity of ownership in the dominant and servient estates
