Loss Of Ownership Of Unused Right Of Way

**AlanFisher** · 05-22-2008, 08:04 AM

About 14 to 15 years ago I purchased rural property in Tennessee which consisted of parts of lots 10 & 11 of a given area. Each lot is 5 acres in size. I own 3 1/2 acres of lot 10 (one owner has the remaining 1.5 acres) and 3 acres of lot 11 (2 separate owners have 1 acre each). My portion of lot 11 (11c) does not front the street so my deed as well as maps provided by the county both show a 25 foot wide by several hundred feet long "right of way" to the street which falls in-between the other 2 portions of the lot (11a and 11b). Our home sits on lot 10 (10b) and our driveway is part of that same parcel. 11c is just woods and there is no drive on that right of way (but there are telephone poles). The right of way is all grass which 11a or 11b owners generally mow. We have no way to get to it without crossing their property. There are no fences at the moment but one is being planned by one of those owners (which I don't mind in the least). We've been told by a neighbor that since we've not done anything with that right of way for all these years that it no longer belongs to us. According to them it belongs to either the owner of lot 11a or 11b or is split between then. Can this be right? The property taxes we've been paying for 15 years has been based on the amount of land as specified in our deed. Is there a time limit to how long you have to use a right of way before ownership of it is lost? I don't want this to escalate into a fight with either the owner of 11a or 11b. Any clarification on land onwership rights in rural Tennessee (Trousdale county) would be greatly appreciated.

**landagent** · 05-22-2008, 11:33 AM

The first thing you need is to look at the language granting the easement. Generally, easements that are tied to the land or run with the land and not ownership, last forever or until changed, legally recinded, or some clause contained within the easement document makes it so, such as an abandoment clause. That "generally word" can get you in trouble so look it up. The document will tell you whats what. I would advise you to not agree with your neighbors that the easement is no longer valid and you should correct him if he says it again in your presence. If it was good just for a certain period it would be a license and not an easement. Good luck.

**AlanFisher** · 05-22-2008, 11:43 AM

Thank you for the quick response. We are in the process of finding a local lawyer who specializes in property rights to look over everything as well as having a survey done of all three deeds that make up lot 11. That way there will be 3rd party proof of who owns what and who does not. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. We would like to avoid any hurt feelings or outright warfare with the neighbors. It's a small community and we all pretty much get along.

**seniorjudge** · 05-22-2008, 03:20 PM

We've been told by a neighbor that since we've not done anything with that right of way for all these years that it no longer belongs to us. According to them it belongs to either the owner of lot 11a or 11b or is split between then.

Your neighbor is full of crap.

But get that lawyer to back me up.