Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 122: Listen and Learn -- Easements (Real Property)
While there are many benefits to owning property in a common interest community, most people love to hate them. Condemnors should be especially wary when seeking to acquire property owned by a homeowners association....more
A “dedication” is an uncompensated transfer of an interest in private property to the public. Dedications can occur pursuant to statute or common law. Statutory dedications follow the path set forth in the Subdivision Map...more
Yesterday, the Court of Appeals of Virginia issued a significant decision about a servient landowner’s right to relocate easements in accordance with Virginia Code § 55.1-304. ...more
On July 9, 2025, the President signed into law the Alaska Native Village Municipal Lands Restoration Act of 2025 (“ANVMLRA”). This legislation will permit Alaska Native Village Corporations to recover from the State of Alaska...more
In Ashmus v. Coughlin, 2025-Ohio-2412, the Ohio Supreme Court provided important guidance on the scope of a seller’s disclosure obligations under Ohio Revised Code 5302.30, particularly when it comes to “material defects” in...more
For family offices and high-net-worth individuals with longstanding real estate holdings in Michigan, recent developments under the Michigan Marketable Record Title Act (MRTA) merit close attention. Originally designed to...more
Last week, the Court of Appeals of Virginia issued a significant 24-page opinion in David Tidwell, et al. v. Kenneth. M Goldsmith, et al., Record No. 0629-24-1 and Record No. 0666-24-1, in consolidated cases concerning the...more
Walkers have represented the owners of almost 200 residential properties in a successful appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council concerning the enforceability of recreational golf and beach access rights. ...more
The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently decided H/S New Bern, LLC v. First Berkshire Properties, LLC, which establishes important precedent regarding stormwater management obligations and trespass liability in...more
An easement — an interest in the land of another entitling the easement owner to a limited use or enjoyment of another’s land — can be established by a variety of theories...more
On Monday, the Court of Appeals of Virginia issued a significant decision about private road easements often referred to as “Ryder” easements. In Becker Building Company, LLC, et al. v. Scott W. Keller, et al., the Court...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently announced two important rules in two eminent domain opinions. Both cases involved pipeline access easements that the condemnor properly took under the Natural Gas Act....more
In State of Arizona v. Foothills Reserve Master Owners Association, Inc., the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that severance damages are available to landowners when their appurtenant easements are condemned, even if their...more
On October 29, 2024, the Second District Court of Appeals of California decided against the County of Santa Barbara (“the county”) in JCCRandall LLC v. County of Santa Barbara. The Court held, contrary to popular belief, that...more
Cannabis is a multi-billion-dollar industry in California. For many years now, cannabis businesses have operated pursuant to state law, obtaining licenses and permits and entering into contracts to carry out cultivation,...more
In a significant victory for property owners, the Arizona Supreme Court held this week that damages in condemnation cases can include compensation for the reduction in value caused by the proximity of homes to a new highway...more
The International Transmission Line (“ITC”) and its subsidiary, the Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC (“METC”), are currently seeking easements to install new transmission lines as part of their Long-Range...more
Yesterday, the Court of Appeals of Virginia issued a significant opinion in Thibault Enterprises, LLC v. David A. Yost, et al., Yost Living Trust, a case involving a dispute over a 50-foot granted easement for ingress and...more
The United States Court of Appeals (“9th Circuit”) addressed in a December 18th memorandum issues arising out of challenges to the Natural Resource Conservation Services (“NRCS”) funding of an irrigation district. See Matthew...more
California law is clear that the owner of a private right-of-way easement has a duty to maintain the easement. What is less clear is how far that duty to maintain may stretch...more
When you grant an easement over your lands to another, who has the obligation to maintain the lands and the improvements on those lands? One might argue that it is the grantor of the easement—that the owner has the obligation...more
In the latest episode of Digging Into Land Use Law, Karla MacCary and Elinor Eizdi explore the law of implied easements, which is a murky area of the law that was made more clear by a recent California Supreme Court case that...more
As coastal erosion continues to shrink beaches, the sand that remains has become ever more valuable; and in Maine, a battle over the beach has reached the state’s highest court. In most coastal states, the intertidal land —...more
As development picks up for the summer, Washington state property owners facing easement disputes will benefit from understanding the Uniform Easement Relocation Act (UERA), 64.65 RCW, which came into effect last year....more
The Court of Appeals of South Carolina (“Court”) addressed in a March 20th Opinion an issue involving easements granting access to or control over a body of water. See Carr Farms, Inc. and Titan Farms, LLC v. Watson, 2024 WL...more