Also known as: servitudes on land · land servitude · land servitudes · easement · real servitude
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A nonpossessory burden or encumbrance on land that limits the possessor's use or enjoyment or confers a use right on another. The burden arises from an affirmative or negative easement or a restrictive covenant.
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Stephen Shaw owns a landlocked parcel and obtains an easement across Sebastian Santos's adjacent field to reach the public road. Stephen drives farm equipment over the field each season. The easement entitles Stephen to perform acts on Sebastian's land that would otherwise constitute trespass.
Sierra Solutions holds an easement allowing its crews to enter Solomon Silver's commercial lot to inspect utility lines. Sierra's workers regularly access the lot with equipment. The easement creates a nonpossessory right that obligates Solomon not to block the authorized entries.
Seth Shapiro buys a rural tract from a seller whose deed makes no mention of any easement. An earlier deed from the common grantor to a stranger recorded an access easement across the tract. Because the easement lies outside Seth's chain of title, he takes the land free of constructive notice of the burden.
Sophia Singh owns a lakeside cottage benefited by an easement across Sean Steele's neighboring shoreline lot for boat access. The easement was created to serve Sophia's parcel and continues to benefit its use. The burden therefore runs with Sean’s land as the servient tenement.
Starlight Media receives an irrevocable license to maintain a transmission tower on Spectrum Financial's rooftop. The license permits ongoing entry and use that would otherwise be trespass. Under the applicable classification the license functions as an easement rather than a mere revocable permission.
Sentinel Security applies for a building permit to expand its facility. The city grants the permit only if Sentinel conveys a public access easement across its parking lot. The condition constitutes a taking unless an essential nexus exists between the easement demand and impacts caused by the proposed expansion.
An affirmative easement permits the holder to perform acts on the servient land that would otherwise be trespass. A negative easement instead prevents the servient owner from performing acts that would otherwise be privileged. The Restatement (Third) treats negative easements as restrictive covenants.
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…Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp. , 458 U. S., at 426 though we assuredly would permit the government to assert a permanent easement that was a pre-existing limitation upon the landowner's title. Compare Scranton v. Wheeler , 179 U. S. 141, 163 (1900) (interests of "riparian owner in the submerged lands . . .…
…Commission for a permit to do so. The Commission granted the permit on the condition that the Nollans allow the public an easement
…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.…
…The defendant relies on the common law doctrine of ancient lights which provided that a landowner acquired a prescriptive
…of the contract and an accounting, and render judgment in favor of Ray Smith. We affirm that part of the judgment granting an easement to Ray Smith. AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART AND JUDGMENT RENDERED FOR APPELLANT. TORBERT, C.J., and FAULKNER, ALMON and EMBRY, JJ., concur. Footnotes [^maj-1]: In a more recent…
The benefit is appurtenant when the easement is created to benefit and does benefit the possessor of a particular parcel in the use of that parcel. The burden of every easement is always appurtenant to the servient land.
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No. Under the chain of title doctrine a purchaser receives constructive notice only of instruments appearing in the chain through which title is claimed. An easement recorded in a stranger's chain is outside the chain and does not bind a subsequent purchaser.
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The condition must bear an essential nexus to a legitimate governmental interest that would justify denial of the permit outright. The exaction must also be roughly proportional to the impacts caused by the proposed development.
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The beneficiary must repair and maintain portions under its control to avoid unreasonable interference with the servient estate or third-party liability. The servient owner has no affirmative duty to repair unless the parties jointly use the improvement, in which case contribution to reasonable costs is required.
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