Also known as: easements
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A nonpossessory right to enter and use land in the possession of another that obligates the possessor not to interfere with the authorized uses. The right may be affirmative, permitting acts the holder would otherwise lack privilege to perform, or appurtenant when created to benefit and actually benefiting the use of a particular parcel.
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Elliot Edmonds contracted to buy land from Evergreen Bank. A recorded easement allowing a neighbor to maintain a drainage ditch across the parcel remained unreleased at closing. Elliot refused to perform, citing the outstanding interest as a title defect that rendered the title unmarketable.
Erika Echevarria owns a parcel landlocked from the public road. Her neighbor Ella Emerson granted her a recorded right to drive across a corner of Ella's land. Erika regularly uses the path to reach her home, an act she would otherwise lack privilege to perform.
Edith Eberhardt holds an easement to run utility lines across land owned by Eastern Electric. When Eastern Electric began excavating directly over the lines, Edith obtained an injunction preventing the work that would have obstructed her authorized use.
Eva Espinosa purchased a parcel from a seller whose deed traced to a common grantor. An easement benefiting a neighboring lot appeared only in a deed from that grantor to a stranger to Eva's chain. The easement gave Eva no constructive notice and did not bind her title.
Eugene Ellsworth owns an access easement across land held by Eclipse Manufacturing. Eclipse's repeated heavy trucking operations created dust and vibration that substantially interfered with Eugene's use of the easement. Eugene recovered damages as an owner of an easement in the affected land.
Emerald Enterprises granted its neighbor an easement to draw water from a spring on Emerald's land. The grant stated the right was created to benefit the neighbor's adjacent farm. The easement runs with the farm parcel and passes automatically to subsequent owners of that land.
An easement creates a nonpossessory interest that may endure indefinitely and run with the land when appurtenant. A license is a revocable privilege that does not create an interest in land and ordinarily ends with the death of either party or transfer of the servient parcel.
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An unreleased easement constitutes a title defect that prevents the seller from conveying marketable title. The buyer may refuse to close or rescind if the seller cannot cure the defect by the closing date specified in the contract.
…plan, denominated Breuer II, to the Commission. However, because appellants learned that Breuer II would have violated existing easements, they substituted Breuer II Revised for Breuer II, and the Commission evaluated the appropriateness only of Breuer II Revised. [^maj-18]: In discussing Breuer I, the Commission also…
…acquisition of "lands, waters, or interests [within Channel Islands National Park] (including but not limited to scenic easements)"); § 460aa-2(a) (authorizing acquisition of "any lands, or lesser interests therein, including mineral interests and scenic
…California cases suggest that JUSTICE BRENNAN's interpretation of the effect of the clause is erroneous, and that to obtain easements
…on the owner’s being estopped to reclaim possession of, and the public’s holding the title to, or having received an irrevocable easement in, the premises. Demopolis v. Webb , 87 Ala. 659 , 6 So. 408 ; Hamilton v. Town of Warrior , 215 Ala. 670 , 112 So. 136 ; Town of Leeds v. Sharp , 218 Ala. 403, 405 , 118 So.…
…American courts have afforded some protection to a landowner's interest in access to sunlight. American courts honor express easements to sunlight. American courts initially enforced the English common law doctrine of ancient lights, but later every state which considered the doctrine repudiated it as inconsistent with the…
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A purchaser receives constructive notice only of instruments appearing in the chain of title through which title is claimed. An easement recorded in a separate chain from a common grantor to a stranger provides no constructive notice to a subsequent purchaser.
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Owners of easements in the affected land may recover for private nuisance when the interference causes significant harm to their use and enjoyment. The rule extends nuisance liability to holders of nonpossessory interests that are detrimentally affected.
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An easement is appurtenant when created to benefit and actually benefiting the possessor of a particular parcel in the use of that land. An easement in gross exists when the right is not tied to any benefited parcel and belongs to the holder personally.
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