Easements

地役権

   Today in property class we discussed easements. Basically, an easement is what happens when a property owner allows an outside party to use part of the land. This usually occurs when a municipality builds pipes, electric wires, or sidewalks through someone's private land. It also occurs when a property owner allows passage to outsiders through a path or road on the property.

   One of the cases we read on the topic concerned a dispute between neighbors over an easement. Neighbor A required the use of a path on Neighbor B's land to reach the main road. This continued for years without issue until B decided to build a dam on his property. The dam, as dams tend to do, caused water to build up near the path, muddying it to the point where vehicles couldn't pass anymore.

   Introducing the case, the professor quipped, "He couldn't drive his Chevy to the levee until the levee was dry."

   A brief ovation followed.