Neighbor Claiming Prescriptive Easement?

[ning]

If three others are already using the end of the drive what's one more?

Even though the other three have permission and the 4th doesn't and is a jerk?

Yes, morally (and maybe legally) the jerk doesn't have standing. Just carefully weigh the options (and maybe unforeseen consequences) before taking any actions.

May be best to send a certified letter granting revocable permission, to throw a wrench in any attempt at a prescriptive easement.

 

[MossRoad]

May be best to send a certified letter granting revocable permission, to throw a wrench in any attempt at a prescriptive easement.

I'd say consult an attorney first, and have the attorney send the letter, if applicable. Never converse with the guy yourself at this point, at least until things are settled.

 

[Sigarms]

If three others are already using the end of the drive what's one more?

Even though the other three have permission and the 4th doesn't and is a jerk?

Yes, morally (and maybe legally) the jerk doesn't have standing. Just carefully weigh the options (and maybe unforeseen consequences) before taking any actions.

I'm not trying to add insult to injury to the OP, but when we looked for our little piece of land 20 years ago, the one thing we stayed away from was any type of easement with neighbors accessing the land for anything.

IMO ANY type of easement with locals using your property to access another piece of property sooner or later is going to be an issue because the boundaries of that easement will most likely be pushed, people being people.

That said, we do have an easement for the power company to access their power lines that does run across a couple of fields.

Since 3 people are already using the property for access, I'm thinking the floodgate has already been open.

End of the day, either the guy is going to going to continue what he wants to do, or the OP is going to have to spend money on lawyers, and then it could be wasting money over a long period of time.

 

[paulsharvey]

I dont know how much a consult with a land lawyer costs, but it might be worth it to get an idea of where you stand. There are a hundred different little aspects that can affect this, such as, if the easement services more than 2 single family homes, in some places, that can be declared an "unmantained county road", and in that case, you can Not restrict its use to anyone, it's a road. You dont want to start the fight before you know that you are going to win.

If you have "Legal Shield" or whatever insurance, I think you get like 3 hours of legal help for cheap, and a discount beyond that, although any legal advice/help/fight is not cheap, no matter what.

As someone above said, I would Not talk to the guy, no good comes from that.

Also, I don't know your area, but it wouldn't be the first time if you really get into a nasty fight with a neighbor that your home mysterious has a fire, or you dog eats rat poison that noone can figure out how he got.

 

[D&D]

Normally, easements do Not include an obligation to maintain, by either party.

No one mentioned this, and it's a crap shoot, but have you looked at your counties public works GIS system? Being that it is a multiple party easement, the County could have taken the easement to ensure access. Many counties don't have this kinda info easy to find, but some do. There are cases where a multi party easement is transferred (or taken) by the county.

Although I do believe Pinion, it's easy to have record of an easement drop away over the coarse of multiple sales, regulation on how far back a title search goes, property splits/combining, ect.

If you do successfully block his access, and he Does have legal access, he May be able to come after you for damages, inadditon to you allowing it.

An easement by itself, would not because road maintenance agreements are separate documents. A shared driveway, normally will have a road maintenance agreement as it’s a requirement from the banks and mortgage issuers. They want to protect their collateral.

 

[Runner]

Since the OP's property extends to the opposite side of the driveway, what would prevent him from installing a nice oilfield pipe fence along that property line WITHOUT any gates on the chief's side? Take lot's of pictures, put up cameras, etc., to document the state of the fence, then if the chief cuts it, you have a claim against him to work with.

 

[newbury]

IMO ANY type of easement with locals using your property to access another piece of property sooner or later is going to be an issue because the boundaries of that easement will most likely be pushed, people being people.

That said, we do have an easement for the power company to access their power lines that does run across a couple of fields.

Fully agree.
When we bought 74 acres next to our house in Mississippi it came with an overhead transmission line ROW. Come to find out the locals considered it to be a "shortcut" for their ATV's between 2 roads, cutting off about 100 yards on a 1 mile route. Sometimes late at night.
For a while we just complained. Then I started setting up a little shooting range for "plinking" across the ROW route. Coincidentally traffic declined.
Now for those of you that don't know in Mississippi

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly enter the lands of another without the permission of, or without being accompanied by, the landowner or the lessee of the land, or the agent of such landowner or lessee, to hunt, fish, shoot, or trap on the lands or leases of another

So land is automatically no trespassing and posting is not required.

 

[Sigarms]

Come to find out the locals considered it to be a "shortcut" for their ATV's between 2 roads, cutting off about 100 yards on a 1 mile route. Sometimes late at night.
For a while we just complained. Then I started setting up a little shooting range for "plinking" across the ROW route. Coincidentally traffic declined.

Ironically enough when I set up a target range out in the back field, the ATV traffic and late night coon hunters kind of disappeared as well when we first moved here.

The only time I don't use a suppressor at night is to let everyone know where shooting still occurs. No doubt, someone (who I apparently don't know) let the word out...

ALL my close neighbors know they can use my property if they ask and they treat it like their own (treat others as you would want to be treated by others). Common courtesy.

 

[hayden]

I'd suggest doing two things.

First, he only has a Prescriptive Easement if a court grants him one. I'd have an attorney send him a certified letter reiterating that he does not have an easement and that if he thinks he is entitled to one that he will need to get a court to grant it.

Second, aside from him being a dick head, do you really care if he uses the same right of way that others use? If not, then have the same attorney send him a certified letter noting that he does not have a right of way, but that you grant him revokable permission to use the drive. This is your best defense against a future claim based on adverse possession. Then record the granting of permission in the land records.

With this, he is the one who has to spend the money to go to court to get a prescriptive easement granted, and he's unlikely to do it if you grant him permission to use the road. And you are now in a position where going forward it will be very hard for anyone to claim a right of way, and be clear in the land records that there isn't a right of way, and that you can revoke the permission anytime.

 

[hayden]

An easement by itself, would not because road maintenance agreements are separate documents. A shared driveway, normally will have a road maintenance agreement as it’s a requirement from the banks and mortgage issuers. They want to protect their collateral.

Yes and no. There is a bunch of Common Law around easements, in the absence of explicit agreements.

In a nut shell, the person who uses the easement has the right to maintain it for the allowed use, and also carries the obligation to maintain it to the extent they wish to use it. So if a tree falls across the easement, the person using the easement has to clear it if they wish to use the easement, not the land owner. The land owner can clear it too if they wish, but they don't have any obligation to do it.

The person who's property is encumbered by the easement retains full rights to the easement land, however they are prohibited from interfering with the other party using the easement. So the land owner can use and maintain the land however they wish, as long as it doesn't block the easement.