Temporary Easements

[WallFly2000]

Thanks again for responding.

I understand your desire to compel the abandonment of the easement, but I see no way for you to do that.

Actually, you gave me the answer.

...find some specific case law which puts a specific time frame on the word "temporary" in an easement in CT...

I understand that in your experience you've never come across such a thing but unless someone looks for it we can't say for sure such a case doesn't exist. So I'll look into that at the very least. If I find such a case in another state or at a federal level, would that have any value?

...you are probably left with something like this from Black's Law Dictionary:

"Temporary.

That which is to last for a limited time only, as distinguished from that which is perpetual, or indefinite, in it's duration."

Without a specific time limit, it has the characteristics of a perpetual easement.

If by definition "temporary" is something that is to last for a limited time, the lack of a specifically defined time frame (in my mind) does not make it perpetual. I think the time limit is described as being when the road is built. My legal options appear to be to try and prove that the intent was to build the road in a reasonable time frame or find a similar case that applied a specific time limit. My other options are to reason with the owners and convince them that a land swap would be in all our best interests especially in light of the fact that they recently damaged my property and I have yet to press charges or make a claim in small claims court.

It's something I would expect an attorney would point out to you prior to closing.

He did. I went into this with both eyes open. There are many other issues both positive and negative that I considered before buying the home. Even if things remain as they are I can live with it. I'm just seeking to improve the characteristics of the property.

[LandSurveyor]

If by definition "temporary" is something that is to last for a limited time, the lack of a specifically defined time frame (in my mind) does not make it perpetual.

You are free of course to research the 400+ years of case law you have in CT. I wouldn't waste time looking out of state for a precedent.

You have a lot of reading in front of you, and in my opinion your chances are slim to none. Even if you find a precedent which seems to define "temporary" as a specific interval of time, you will be going to court (not small claims) unless your neighbor rolls over. In court, the judge will be looking to the plain language of the grant and attempting to determine the intent of the parties based on that language. I have not tried to imply that your easement is perpetual, only that it has some of those characteristics. I would characterize it as a perpetual easement with a clearly defined definition of an act of abandonment or surrender, which act may or may not ever occur.

The lack of a defined time frame places it in that "indefinite" category in Black's definition.

Your estimate of the cost of relocation,

I would guess that it would run about $10,000 easily.

Could easily be your least expensive alternative.

[WallFly2000]

Yes I do have a lot of reading in front of me.

I already reviewed quite a bit of material pertaining to CT going back to 1993 including some federal cases.

Google Scholar

I plan on looking up the title transfer records and permits taken out in and around the time the parcels were subdivided. Maybe there's some other info.

Thanks again for all your help. I'll be posting another thread about another topic related to this property regarding a second ROW that has emerged which I would like to extinguish.

[LandSurveyor]

Google Scholar is a nice service but if you are serious about your search you will need to get access to WestLaw, Nexus, etc. as Google Scholar will contain five to maybe eight percent of the cases you will need to search. If there is a law school/law library in your area, you might be able to charm them into letting you use their facilities and their search subscriptions. You really do need that kind of search capability if you are serious about this.