Ditzian v. Unger

The parties own neighboring parcels in Mendocino County. The scenic sand dunes of MacKerricher State Park are behind the parcels. Respondents historically accessed the dunes via a path that runs along the parties’ property line, then crosses appellant’s property, and then crosses the parcel of another neighbor. In 2015, appellant erected a fence that blocked respondents’ access to the dunes via the property line path. Respondents sued.. The trial court granted respondents a prescriptive easement allowing them and their invitees (including Airbnb guests) to use the path. The court of appeal affirmed, rejecting appellant’s argument that the easement is a public easement prohibited by Civil Code section 1009, which provides that, because it is “in the best interests of the state to encourage owners of private real property to continue to make their lands available for public recreational use,” and because owners who allow “members of the public to use, enjoy or pass over their property for recreational purposes” risk loss of the property rights, “no use of such property by the public .... shall ever ripen to confer upon the public or any governmental body or unit a vested right to continue to make such use permanently, in the absence of an express written irrevocable offer of dedication.” View "Ditzian v. Unger" on Justia Law