1: Easements

An easement granted for noncommercial purposes

A personal easement in gross

Instead, let's say that Chris hits the lottery for $350 million before he harvests the corn. He calls Carmen and tells her that he has no interest in harvesting the corn. What's the most likely way his easement will be terminated?

Abandonment - he expressed a desire to terminate, but he didn't put it in writing in a formal release document

Which of the situations described would be an example of a license? -dawn buys a ticket to the theatre -nate has a right to hunt on someone else's property -rick gets a ticket to park his car in the long term lot -stacy checks into a hotel for a week

All of the above

Is an easement an encumbrance? Why or why not?

An easement is an encumbrance, because it encumbers a property title

What is an encumbrance?

Any claim, lien or liability that affects the value or the use of a property.

Which of these situations would LEAST likely be an example of a license? -ann buys a ticket to the theatre -bob gives john the right to hunt on his property -carl get's access to cross his neighbor's lawn to get to the lake when he bought his house -dave checks into a hotel for two nights

Carl gets access to cross his neighbor's lawn to get to the lake when he bought his house

A fence, shared wall, or driveway between two properties. Often part of a deed or other written agreement.

Easement by Agreement

Government condemns a property to establish an easement for the benefit of the general public

Easement by Condemnation

When part of a property is sold, and the deed (or other document) enables the seller to retain an easement across his former land

Easement by Express Grant

When a tract of land is divided and sold, and the original owner keeps an ingress or egress (a means to enter/exit the property such as a driveway. Can also be applied when divided into 2 or more parcels or for another long-standing apparent use that's reasonably necessary for the enjoyment of the land.

Easement by Implication

Jacob and Jeremy share part of a driveway. To ensure that each can enjoy use of the driveway and share the maintenance costs, they most likely have what type of easement?

Easement by agreement - an easement expressly created by a written document.

Heather owns a property on the shore. The guest house is on the beach, and the main house is up a hill above the beach. She sells the guest house to Tom. After the sale, she continues to use the gate between the main house and the beach house to cross Tom's property and access the beach. This would most likely be considered.. -Easement by implication -Easement by necessity -Easement by prescription -trespassing

Easement by implication - Since the land was originally owned by Heather and she has established years of going through the gate to the beach, an easement is created by implication

When a piece of land would be useless without it - property owner must obtain dominant tenant's permission or court order

Easement by necessity

Open and notorious, hostile and adverse use of another person's land occurs for a specific period of time as determined by state law

Easement by prescription

Ethel has lived in a house on the lot behind Terry's property for 30 years, driving across Terry's vacant front property to get to the road without an easement. When Terry finally decides to build, she puts a fence all around her property, blocking Ethel from the road. Other than an easement by necessity, what option might Ethel have to travel from her property to the road? -easement by condemnation -easement by implication -easement by prescription -she has no other option

Easement by prescription - Ethel has been using that land for a very long time and might meet the state statutory requirements to request an easement by prescription to continue to cross Terry's property

A thunderstorm knocks down power lines on John's property. Big city electric enters John's property without his permission to fix the lines, this is an example of

Easement in gross - an easement in gross burdens one parcel of land for benefit by an individual or corporation

True or false: The gas company's easement in gross is a negative easement

False. An affirmative easement allows the owner of the easement to do something, while a negative easement forbids something. This is an affirmative easement.

True or false: an example of an easement appurtenant would be an easement that grants access across a parcel of land to a public beach

False. This would be a personal easement in gross; an easement appurtenant involves two properties and allows other access to a portion or all of their property

Gina has an easement to Drive across her neighbor Fred's property to get to her house. Who has the servient tenement?

Fred

What happens if a voluntary easement is not in writing?

If someone buys the land and has no notice of the easement, it probably wont run with the land

Brian has an appurtenant easement that allows him to cross over his neighbor's land to get to the lake. When the neighbor sells his land to Brian, the easement is terminated through -abandonment -destruction -failure of purpose -merger

Merger

Albert has a license to fish on Foster's lake. Foster sells the property to June. Does Albert still have the right to fish on the lake?

No- if the property for which a license has been granted is sold, the license privileges are terminated

ways easements can be created (PECAN-I)

Prescription, Express grant, Condemnation, Agreement, Necessity, Implication

Ways easements can be terminated

Release-parties sign document releasing easement holder's interest in the property Merger-Two or more separate properties unite by transfer ownership of all properties to one Abandonment-Failure to occupy and use the property, may result in loss of rights. Must be an act or statement clearly expressing intent to abandon easement Destruction, Failure, or Expiration of purpose- purpose for easement no longer exists Court action- quiet title action in the courts terminating it Prescription/Non-use- Prescriptive easement owner doesn't use easement in mandated number of years

An easement that grants access to property is commonly referred to as __________

Right of way (Row)

True or false: Gina's easement could be considered an easement by necessity

True. Since there isn't another way to access Gina's property other than through Fred's property, it's quite possible that a court would grant an easement by necessity.

True or false: an easement for light and air is considered a negative easement

True. the dominant tenant can prevent the servient tenant from doing something on the land because it could impact the dominant land

Chris, a farmer, sold his land to Carmen before his corn crop was ready for harvest. As part of the purchase, Carmen granted Chris an easement to enter the land and harvest the corn. If a hail storm hits the area a week before harvest, destroying the entire corn crop, does Chris's easement end?

Yes - this is an example of destruction or expiration of purpose.

Gina has an easement to Drive across her neighbor Fred's property to get to her house. Gina sells her house to Kim. Can Kim now drive across Fred's land?

Yes, easements run with the land. When Gina sells the house, the buyer gets the easement too.

Henry has an easement to cross Jennifer's property to get to his house. Jennifer sells her property. Does Henry still have a right to use the easement?

Yes- in most cases, easements run with the land

An easement in gross involves a specific parcel of land and benefits ______________ or _______________ , not a piece of land

a company or a person

What is an easement?

a nonpossessory interest in property - someone has the right to use another person's real property for a particular purpose

Jared has an easement to drive across his neighbor Vicky's property to get to his barn. Jared's property is known as the ______________ tenement.

dominant - the property that benefits from the easement is known as the dominant tenement

the company or person benefited is called the :

dominant tenant

Gina has an easement to Drive across her neighbor Fred's property to get to her house. Gina's property is known as the:

dominant tenement

The land that is benefited is called the :

dominant tenement

View Easement

easement for light and air - prevents property owner from doing something on land that could impact the dominant land, such as restricting a view. Often used in regards to solar panels, aviation, and view restrictions

true or false: easements are considered financial encumbrances

false- easements are considered non-financial encumbrances

a similarity between an easement and a license is that both -can be revoked at any time -create an encumbrance -grant someone access to another's property -run with the land

grant access to another's property

Easement Appurtenant

involves two properties; An easement created to benefit another parcel of land, usually runs with the land

License vs. Easement

license gives PERMISSION to use a person's land for a specific&limited purpose - can be revoked at any time easements are RIGHTS - have indefinite time period

Evan and Kenneth have an agreement that Evan is permitted to hunt on Kenneth's property during hunting season. This agreement is a(n)

license- a license is temporary and revocable

A solar easement law impacts the right to __________. In some states, the landowner who first establishes solar panels has the right to unobstructed use of them

light

The gas company has an easement in gross to access its gas lines on the -dominant tenant -dominant tenement -servient tenant -servient tenement

servient tenement

the burdened land by an easement is called a :

servient tenement

true or false: an easement in gross that belongs to a company may be assigned to others

true- a company may sell or transfer easement rights to another company or person

Stacy goes on vacation and checks into a hotel for one week. On the first night, she throws a party, and the guests next door complain. Can the hotel management kick her out even though she has six more nights?

yes- the hotel is essentially granting her a license to occupy the room, and they have a right to revoke her privileges at any time

Chris's lottery ticket was only worth $62, so Chris goes on the property and harvests the corn. Assuming that there was not a time frame indicated in the deed where the easement was created, does his easement end?

yes- the purpose of the easement has expired once he harvests the corn

which is an example of a negative easement? -the gas company uses two feet in front of your house for lines -you and your neighbor share a wall separating your gardens -your neighbor goes to court to get the right to drive across your land to get to his -your neighbor is unable to add a second story to his house if it blocks your sunlight

your neighbor is unable to add a second story to his house if it blocks your sunlight- a negative easement prevents the servient tenant from using their own land in a certain way