Hinrichs v. Melton

The Court of Appeal held that the trial court may grant an equitable easement without there being a preexisting use by the landowner seeking the easement. Plaintiff filed suit seeking to establish easements for access to his landlocked parcel of land. In this case, plaintiff pointed to nothing in the record that would compel a trier of fact to find he carried his burden of proving a prescriptive easement; plaintiff did not have an easement appurtenant to the patent; substantial evidence supported the trial court's finding that if plaintiff ever had an easement over one of the parcels, it was extinguished by adverse possession; the trial court could reasonably conclude the balance of the hardships did not justify imposition of an easement over the Valiulis parcel; the trial court did not abuse its discretion by not choosing a historical trail as the route for the easement; and the trial court properly exercised its discretion in not awarding plaintiff's costs. Finally, although there is no doubt that the Meltons extinguished any easement over the trail by adverse possession, that does not mean an easement by necessity over the Asquith parcel had been extinguished by adverse possession. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment. View "Hinrichs v. Melton" on Justia Law