Also known as: easements of access · access easement · right of access
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A nonpossessory interest in land that entitles the holder to enter and travel across the servient estate to reach a public road or another parcel. The interest arises by express grant, implication, or prescription when access is necessary for reasonable enjoyment of the dominant estate.
Ezra Eastman owns a parcel landlocked by a courthouse-adjacent lot. He claims an easement of access across the neighboring property to reach the public road leading to the trial venue. The court recognizes the easement because denying passage would prevent meaningful public attendance at the proceedings.
Eugene Ellsworth seeks a building permit for his coastal lot. The commission conditions approval on recording an easement of access allowing the public to cross his property to reach the beach. The easement burdens the land because it appropriates a permanent right of passage without compensation.
Eduardo Enriquez receives a condemnation notice for his riverfront parcel. The city plans to replace his private driveway with a public easement of access serving new commercial development. The taking is upheld because the access right serves a public purpose even though the parcel is transferred to private developers.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Emily Ellis operates a small store inside a large mall. She asserts an easement of access across common areas to reach customer entrances after the owner attempts to restrict foot traffic. The court enforces the easement because the mall's invitation to the public creates an implied right of passage.
Emmett Egan places a large sign blocking the only driveway serving his neighbor's home. The neighbor claims an easement of access across the front lawn to reach the public street. The ordinance banning signs does not eliminate the easement because the access right is a separate property interest.
Emanuel Escobar delivers credit reports to a commercial building using a private alley claimed as an easement of access. The building owner sues for trespass after learning the reports contain defamatory content. The easement remains valid because the delivery route itself is a protected property interest independent of the report's contents.
An easement of access specifically permits travel to reach a public road or another parcel. It is commonly implied by necessity when a conveyance would otherwise landlock the dominant estate.
Yes. Open, continuous, adverse use of a path for the statutory period can ripen into an easement of access. Successive owners may tack periods if privity exists through a transfer of the dominant estate.
When a regulation grants third parties a recurring right to enter and cross private land, courts treat the appropriation as a per se physical taking equivalent to an easement of access. Just compensation is required regardless of the duration of each entry.
…not force the newspaper to print a retraction, because a judicially compelled retraction, like a "remedy such as an enforceable right of access," entails "governmental coercion" as to content, which "at once brings about a confrontation with the express provisions of the First Amendment and the judicial gloss on that Amendment…