Also known as: servient estate · dominant estate · servient estates · dominant estates · servient and dominant tenements · dominant tenement · servient tenement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A servient estate is land whose possessor is subject to an easement. A dominant estate is land whose possessor holds an appurtenant easement over other land.
Steven Silva granted Sentinel Security a recorded easement to run a fiber line across his ranch. The ranch therefore functions as the servient estate because its owner must allow the line to occupy the subsurface corridor. Sentinel may enter periodically to inspect the line without needing fresh permission from Steven.
Selena Singh owns the parcel crossed by an access easement benefiting Scott Summers's landlocked lot. After heavy rains damaged the shared gravel surface, Scott hired a contractor to restore the road. Selena may require Scott to contribute to the cost because the easement beneficiary controls the improvement and must prevent unreasonable interference with the servient estate.
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Simone Sanders conveyed a strip of her acreage to allow Sydney Santos's adjacent parcel direct road access. Sydney's parcel is the dominant estate because its owner holds the right to cross Simone's land. The easement travels with future conveyances of Sydney's parcel.
Sebastian Santos owns the servient parcel subject to an underground utility easement held by Sterling Dynamics. He plants fruit trees above the line provided the roots do not reach the conduit. Sterling cannot object because the planting does not unreasonably interfere with its right to maintain the utility.
Southland Foods acquired a recorded easement across neighboring land for delivery access. Before the conveyance the grantor had used the route only for light pickup trucks. A court may consider that prior limited use when deciding whether later heavy tractor-trailers exceed the easement's scope.
Skyline Construction received an access easement over adjacent property. After the grant the company began storing materials along the route and running daily equipment convoys. A court may examine that later intensified pattern when determining whether the additional burden is permitted under the original easement.
Courts examine the use made of the servient tenement both before and after the conveyance that created the easement. They also consider the circumstances surrounding the conveyance and whether the new intensity imposes an unreasonable additional burden.
The beneficiary of the easement must repair and maintain the portions under its control to avoid unreasonable interference with the servient estate or liability to third parties. When the servient owner and easement holder jointly use the improvement they share the reasonable repair costs.
The servient owner may use its land in any manner that does not unreasonably interfere with the easement holder's enjoyment. Reasonable uses that leave the easement functionally intact are permitted even if they cause minor inconvenience.
The dominant estate is the land benefited by the easement and whose possessor holds the right to use the servient land. The servient estate is the land burdened by the easement and whose possessor must allow that use.
…Reed, J.; Petrich, C.J., and Petrie, J., concur Opinion of Reed, J. Defendants, Fred and Hattie Voss, owners of the servient estate, appeal from a judgment that denied their counterclaim for an injunction against Will and Jean Brown, plaintiffs, owners of the dominant estate. Defendants requested the injunction to…