Easements Flashcards
What is an easement?
A grant of a nonpossessory property interest that entitles its holder to some form of use or enjoyment of another’s land.
What is an affirmative easement?
An affirmative easement is the right to go onto and do something on servient land.
What is a negative easement?
Entitles its holder to prevent the servient landowner from doing something that would otherwise be permissible.
negative easements are generally recognized in only four categories:
LASS
Light
Air
Support
Stream water from an artificial flow
(minority of states allow a negative easement for scenic view)
creation of a negative easement
Negative easements can only be created expressly, by a writing signed by the grantor. There is no natural or automatic right to a negative easement.
Easement Appurtenant
An easement is appurtenant when it benefits its holder in his physical use of enjoyment of his own land.
How will you know when you have an easement appurtenant?
Two parcels of land must be involved:
- a dominant tenement, which derives the benefit
- a servient tenement, which bears the burden
Easement in gross
In gross if it confers upon its holder some personal or pecuniary advantage that is not related to their use or enjoyment of their land.
Transferability of Easement Appurtenant
Passes automatically with transfers of the dominant tenement, regardless of whether it is even mentioned in the conveyance.
transferability of easement in gross
An easement in gross is not transferable unless it is for commercial purposes.
The basic methods of creating an easement can be remembered by PING:
Prescription
Implication
Necessity
Grant
What is the writing that evidences the easement called?
A deed of easement.
An easement may be acquired by analogy to adverse possession. For the elements to acquire a prescriptive easement, remember COAH:
Continuous and uninterrupted use for the given statute’s period
Open and notorious use
Actual use that need not be exclusive
Hostile use
There are 8 ways to terminate an easement. Remember END CRAMP:
Estoppel
Necessity
Destruction
Condemnation
Release
Abandonment
Merger
Prescription
Party walls and common driveways
Courts will treat a wall erected partly on the property of each of two adjoining landowners as belonging to each owner to the extent it rests upon their land.
Courts will also imply mutual cross-easements of support, with the result that each party can use the wall or driveway and neither party can unilaterally destroy it.
