Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

July Exam - Real Property > Easements > Flashcards

Easements Flashcards

1
Q

Easement - Basics

A
  • grant of nonpossessory property interests that entitles its holders to some form of use or enjoyment of another’s land
  • easement holder has right to use another’s tract of land for a specified purpose, but has no right to possess or enjoy that land
  • presumed to be of perpetual duration unless grant specifically limits the interest
  • can be affirmative or negative
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Affirmative Easement

A
  • the right to go onto + do something on servient land (i.e. the land that is burdened by the easement)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Negative Easement

A
  • entitles holder to prevent the other landowner from doing something that would otherwise by permissible

Generally recognized in only four categories (LASS):
- Light
- Air
- Support
- Stream water from an artificial flow
- minority of states also allow for scenic view

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Creation of a Negative Easement

A
  • must be done expressly
  • requires a writing signed by the grantor
  • no natural or automatic right to a negative easement
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Easement Appurtenant

A
  • benefits holder in his physical use or enjoyment of his own land

Two parcels of land must be involved:
- dominant tenement (derives the benefit)
- servient tenement (bears the burden)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Easement in Gross

A
  • confers upon holder only some personal or pecuniary advantage that is not related to their use or enjoyment of their land
  • servient land is burdened, but there’s no benefited or dominated land
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Examples of Easements in Gross

A
  • right to place a billboard on someone’s lot
  • right to swim in someone’s pond
  • utility company’s right to lay power across a lot
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Transferability - Easement Appurtenant

A
  • passes automatically with transfers of the dominant tenement, regardless of whether it is mentioned in the conveyance
  • burden also passes automatically with the servient estate
    ->UNLESS new owner is a bona fide purchaser without notice of the easement
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Transferability - Easement in Gross

A
  • not transferable unless it is for commercial purposes
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Methods for Creating an Easement

A

PING:
- Prescription
- Implication
- Necessity
- Grant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Creation of Easement by Grant

A
  • easement must be memorialized in writing + signed by holder of servient tenement unless duration is brief enough to be outside the coverage of a particular state’s Statute of Frauds
  • usually, easements that are supposed to endure for more than one year must be in writing to be enforceable
  • must comply w/ all formal requisites of a deed
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Creation of Easement by Implication

A
  • creation by operation of law
  • exception to SOF
  • quasi-easement - implied from pre-existing use
  • also easements implied w/o existing use in two circumstances: subdivision plot and profit a prendre
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Creation of Easement by Implication - Subdivision Plat

A
  • when lots sold in subdivision w/ reference t a recorded plat or map that shows streets leading to the lots, buyers of lots have implied easements to use those streets to access their lots
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Easement by Implication - Profit a Prendre

A
  • implied easement to pass over surface of servient land + use it as reasonably necessary to extract from servient property minerals or some product (as specified by terms of the profit)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Creation of Easement by Necessity

A
  • implied when landowner conveys a portion of their land w/ no way out except over some part of grantor’s remaining land
  • owner of servient parcel (the one burdened) has right to locate the easement
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Easement by Prescription

A
  • may be acquired by analogy to adverse possession

COAH:
- Continuous + uninterrupted use for given statute’s period
- Open + Notorious Use
- Actual Use (for easement, need not be exclusive)
- Hostile Use (no consent)

  • generally can’t be acquired in public land
17
Q

Easement by Express Reservation

A
  • arises when grantor conveys title to land but reserves right to continue to use the tract for a special purpose
  • under majority view, can only be reserved for grantor -> attempt to reserve for anyone else is void
18
Q

Scope of Easement

A
  • determined by terms of the grant or conditions that created it
  • if created but not specifically located on servient tenement, one of sufficient width, height, + direction for intended use will be implied
  • if no specific limitations, courts assume easement intended to meet both present + future needs of dominant estate (ex: wider road as car widen)
  • if dominant parcel subdivided, lot owners won’t succeed to easement if to do so would unreasonably overburden servient estate
19
Q

Remedy for Easement Misuse

A
  • does NOT terminate the easement
  • remedy is just an injunction against the misuse
20
Q

Use of Servient Estate - Repairs

A
  • servient owner can generally use land in any way they wish so long as doesn’t interfere w/ easement
  • easement holder has duty to make repairs if sole owner
    -> if both users, court will generally apportion repair costs
21
Q

Easement - Ways to Terminate

A

END CRAMP

Estoppel
Necessity
Destruction
Condemnation
Release
abandonment
Merger
Prescription

  • can also specify in creation of the easement conditions under which it will terminate
22
Q

Easement - Estoppel

A
  • oral expression of intent to abandon easement won’t terminate easement unless committed to writing or accompanied by action
  • BUT if servient owner materially changes position in reasonable reliance on the easement holder’s assurances or representations, the easement terminates through estoppel
23
Q

Easement - Termination by Necessity

A
  • easements created by necessity expire once the necessity ends
    -> UNLESS the easement was reduced to an express grant
24
Q

Easement - Termination by Destruction

A
  • destruction of the servient land, other than through willful conduct of servient owner, will terminate easement
25
Q

Easement - Termination by Condemnation

A
  • if servient land condemned (gov exercises eminent domain) easement gets terminated
  • courts divided on whether easement holder would receive compensation
26
Q

Easement- Termination by Release

A
  • a release given by the easement holder to the servient land owner will terminate the easement
27
Q

Easement - Termination by Abandonment

A
  • to establish abandonment, need physical action that shows intent to never use the easement again (ex: building structure that blocks access to easement on adjoining lot
28
Q

Easement - Termination by Merger

A
  • easement extinguished when title to easement + title to servient land become vested in same person
    -> if same person acquires ownership of both, the estates merge + easement destroyed
    -> keep in mind that the interests held in the two estates would need to be equivalent (instead of life estate + fee simple)
29
Q

Easement - Termination by Prescription

A
  • servient owner may extinguish easement by interfering with it in accordance with elements of adverse possession
30
Q

Party Walls and Common Driveways

A
  • courts treat wall erected partly on the property of each of two adjoining landowners as belonging to each owner to extent it rests upon their land
  • court also imply mutual cross-easements of support, w/ result that each party can use wall or driveway + neither party can unilaterally destroy it
31
Q

Creation of Party Wall/Common Driveway

A
  • need written agreement
  • BUT irrevocable license can arise from detrimental reliance on a parol agreement
  • can also result from implication or prescription
32
Q

Party Walls- Running of Covenants

A
  • if party wall or common driveway owners agree to be mutually responsible for maintaining the wall or driveway, the burdens and benefits of those promises (deemed covenants) run to successive owners of each parcel

July Exam - Real Property (16 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions