Hi, We have an historic trail that is being blocked by a developer. Does anyone know an attorney who knows California law or federal law as it relates to prescriptive easement? Thank you.
judy
Trail Prescriptive Easement Law
system
#2
It depends where your trail is. Coastwalk, a state-funded trail organization charged with designating and building the Cal Coast Trail, would probably be able to help you find out. They deal with this all the time. They are at coastwalk.org.
tha wookie
system
#3
I have no idea what a ‘Prescriptive Easement’ is. Is it like a Permanent Easement?
Please tell me more!
Kineo Kid
system
#4
A perscriptive easment occurs when a piece of land is used “openly and continuosly” for a set period of time. In NH I believe the time is 40 years but it varies by state and is set by state law. The key is that the use has to be open for all to see so that the owner and public knows it is going on or should have known it is going on and that it used continuosly (not once in a while) over the statutory time limit.
Big B
system
#5
My two favorite topics, the AT and the law, come together. I am in the middle of taking Property in law school at the moment, and I can attest to Big B’s description. The only clarification I might add is that the easement only pertains to usage not ownership of the piece of land contained in the easement. In the current case, other factors besides openness and statutory limitations might be whether the owner of the land was aware of the usage, and whether they had consented to the usage. If so, the usage may be treated as a license to use the property, and that type of license is always revokable. Or the land owner’s awareness and acquiescence could be taken as an express easement which may be valid. It all depends on the statutes involved and that particular state’s common law.
yahtzee01