Easements & others Flashcards
Dominant land
The land benefited by the easement
Servient Land
The land burdened by the easement
Appurtenant easement
Benefits the holder in their use of a specific parcel of land
Easement in Gross
Not connected to the holder’s use of any particular parcel of land
Affirmative easement
Allows the holder to perform an act on the servient land
Negative easement
Allows the holder to prevent the servient owner from performing an act on the servient land
Express easement
Voluntarily created by the servient owner, in writing that satisfies the SOF. Can be created by: Grant or reservation.
Easement implied by prior existing use
□ Severance of title to land held In common ownership
□ An existing, apparent, and continuous use of one parcel for the benefit of another at the time of severance; and
□ Reasonable necessity for that use (beneficial & convenient)
Easement by necessity (traditional)
□ Severance of title to land held in common ownership
□ Necessity for the easement at the time of conveyance (Parcel must be landlocked)
Easement by necessity (Majority/Berge)
reasonable necessity, access must be reasonably practical, somewhere between mere inconvenience and strict necessity
Prescriptive easement
An easement acquired by conspicuous, long-term use of another land.
The claimant’s use must be 1) open and notorious, 2) adverse and under a claim of right, 3) & continuous and uninterrupted for the statutory period.
O’Dell rule for prescriptive easements
1) the adverse use of another’s land (not presumed without evidence, the claimant must be able to show);
2) continuous and uninterrupted use for at least 10 years;
3) that the adverse use was actually known to the owner of the land, or so open, notorious and visible that a reasonable owner of the land would have noticed the use; 4) the reasonably identified starting point, ending point, line, ad width of the land that was adversely used, and the manner or purpose for which the land was adversely used.
The adverse element for prescriptive easements
Majority: objective, so long as the other elements are met the court will presume that use is adverse
O’Dell: claimant must prove that the easement was held adversely
Good or bad faith doesn’t matter
easement by estoppal
§ A license is an informal permission that allows the licensee to use the land of another for a narrow purpose
§ Two elements are required for a license to be irrevocable through estoppel
□ The licensee extends substantial money or labor in reasonable reliance
□ The licensor must reasonably expect such reliance
What determines the scope of an easement for an expressed easement
The party’s intentions as expressed in the grant.
