Claiming a Prescriptive Easement

My question involves an easement in the state of:Pennsylvania
I have been renting a section of a building for about 13 years out of which I have run my small business during that time.
My landlord has owned the building for approx. 30 years and has run his small business out of it during that time as well.
Now this building is long and narrow, with only about 50ft of frontage on a public street. There is however a driveway running along and extending beyond the length of the building on one side. The building is approximately 60 years old, and it is quite obvious that it was built with access to this driveway in mind. I.E. there are two over head doors and loading docks, and 3 walk in doors facing this driveway.
The problem is, that the drive way is actually part of a neighboring property on the opposite side of my building; so my building is situated in the center of a U shaped parcel owned by another party.
Said drive way has been actively used by numerous parties in my building over the last 60 years, as well as the actual driveway owner and another neighboring entity.
Access has never been challenged, but has never been well defined either; until recently.
The neighbor that actually owns the driveway signed an easement with another neighbor that uses it considerably more than anyone else.
This grants that neighbor unrestricted use with certain provisions, but says nothing about acknowledging the right of access for my building.
Since I am interested in purchasing this building, I want to know that I have at least a certain amount of legal right to access it via the driveway in question.
In approaching the owner of the driveway, I respectfully asked for some form of written acknowledgement to my right to access in light of all the years of continued use.
He informed me that his brother, a real estate lawyer ,advised that access does not have to be granted on the grounds that my building is not landlocked by virtue of the 50ft of street frontage,therefore any access can be made through the front door.
He further stated that he doesn't have a problem with me or my landlord using the driveway, but he will not create any documentation to that effect which he termed to be "unenforceable". Whatever that meant.
When questioned as to whether my or my landlord's access could be denied for any reason at any time as he saw fit, he answered in the affirmative.
My argument for a prescriptive easement is based on two points: that the building was clearly constructed with use of the driveway for accessibility via the side loading docks and doors. And that said building has been occupied continuously for 60 years and the occupants have been using the driveway in varying degrees since that time without ever having any written permission to do so.
Would this situation qualify as a "prescriptive easement" ?
If so, how would I go about enacting such a thing ????
Thanks for in advance for advice forthccoming

You can't "claim" a prescriptive easement, it must be given by the courts. So if you can't get an easement from the owner then the owner of your building will need to sue for an easement. This can run into lots and lots of $$$ and time if the property owner fights it.

So if you want to buy this building I would suggest that you get the current owner to settle this issue once and for all before you buy. if you don't then it's on you to spend the money and time to sue for it.

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_ca...33360102312340

Quote:

---

My argument for a prescriptive easement is based on two points: that the building was clearly constructed with use of the driveway for accessibility via the side loading docks and doors.

---

irrelevant.

Quote:

---

And that said building has been occupied continuously for 60 years and the occupants have been using the driveway in varying degrees since that time without ever having any written permission to do so.

---

first, it doesn't require written permission. Second, how do you know there was no written permission anyway and third, can you prove it was adverse use. As it stands, the owner of the property has granted you permission to use the drive. That means your use would not be adverse. If he gave permission to any other person, their use would not be adverse.

by far the cheapest way to settle this securely would be to negotiate a price for such easement rights, given that he has already granted an easement to someone on that road and so the land is already encumbered, it is likely that he would be willing to accept a payment to secure rights to use the road for your parcel as well.

The owner of the driveway has given me VERBAL permission to use the driveway, but there were no witnesses to corroborate that. My concern is that the driveway owner has advised that he can rescind that permission at any time he sees fit for any reason. He could even deny that he ever gave verbal permission to me in the first place, without having a document in place.
Last year, the driveway owner indicated he was desirous for me to acquire the building rather than see it made into a parking lot.He also indicated that he "would work with me". Recently, he has changed his stance and indicated he doesn't care who owns the building or what happens to it, and that he has no intentions of putting anything in writing admitting that I have his permission to access.

- - - Updated - - -

Unfortunately, the driveway owner has made it very clear that he has no interest or desire to grant any more easements .
He claims that it could be in conflict with the easement that he already has in place.
Even if the owner would be open to monetary compensation, I fear he would only entertain it at a cost beyond what would be considered prudent compared to the worth of the property I am interested in.
According to court documents, the driveway easement that was recently granted was purchased by the grantee for a 6 figure sum.
To put it in perspective, that sum equals approx. 75% of my building owner's asking price.

The driveway owner doesn't need to deny giving you permission to use the driveway, actually it is in his best interest to prove that he has given permission. He can notify you at any time that his permission to use the driveway has been revoked and at that point you are most likely screwed.
Since he gave you permission to use the driveway that defeats any claims you have on the driveway.

If you think the amount of $$ it will take to change his mind regarding granting you an easement is a lot, spend a few hundred up front now and speak to a lawyer regarding your possible rights to this driveway and what they estimate it will cost to sue for an easement with no promise of winning.
I think in the end you'll find that just walking away will be the best course of action. Of course you never know, the driveway owner might have designs on that building/property so the best way to get it for a song is to make life difficult for anyone who wants to buy/use it thereby lowering the price to something he wants to spend.

Quote:

---

Quoting jk

---

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9709333360102312340

first, it doesn't require written permission. Second, how do you know there was no written permission anyway and third, can you prove it was adverse use. As it stands, the owner of the property has granted you permission to use the drive. That means your use would not be adverse. If he gave permission to any other person, their use would not be adverse.

---

I'm not going to disagree with you but you know that the lack of written permission is a double-edged sword.

The case you cited, I think, actually supports OP's situation with the exception that the property is not landlocked. However, the 50 feet of road access can hardly support the ability to install loading docks for an industrial building. OP raises a good point.

While the use of the driveway was not entirely adverse (or so appears) the history of that 60 year old building and that of the neighboring property may give rise to an easement.

I would want to know what an attorney has to say about it.

Quote:

---

According to court documents, the driveway easement that was recently granted was purchased by the grantee for a 6 figure sum.
To put it in perspective, that sum equals approx. 75% of my building owner's asking price.

---

If someone is willing to pay that kind of money for an easement there are development plans in the works you know nothing about. You better do your due diligence.

perhaps I can elaborate a bit further.
I have consulted a local real estate lawyer, whom educated me to the existence of the term prescriptive easement. After reviewing photos of my building and plot maps etc, he felt it would apply in my situation.
However, he has advised that the burden should be on the current owner to resolve any accessibility issues, not me.
Now that's all well and good; but one has to understand that my landlord is 72 years old, has pretty much left the building decline for the last 25 years, and wants to be free and clear of it with as little effort on his part as possible.
To say that I should just walk away is easier said than done. I've grown my business in this location,which involved installing some rather heavy equipment; which would be expensive and time consuming to move.And move it where ?
I've searched nearby properties, and either the buildings and zoning are not conducive to my line of work, or the buildings are considerably larger and more expensive than my needs could ever require.
This building I'm in has been a very good fit, in spite of the drawbacks. And at 10K sq ft it would allow me to grow from my current 3K sq ft to meet potential future customer demands.
Regarding the neighbor with the expensive easement, their business requires an unrestricted flow of truck traffic to and through their property. Hence their desire to procure the easement.
I have no doubt that they may have designs on my building as it would be a natural choice for a truck parking lot.
I suppose I wouldn't be averse to selling to them at some point down the road when I'm ready to retire; but that is at least 8-10 years away as I see things now.

I brought up the history of your building and land. Do you know who the land was purchased from. Was it the neighboring property owner by any chance?

The fact that those loading docks are on that private drive makes me wonder. No one in their right mind would do that if they didn't know that they could use the driveway for access.

Suppose that your property was purchased from the neighbor. The neighbor created or owned this long and narrow lot that your building is on. They say to the buyer that he can put up a building and use the driveway. That would have been a representation that would lead to an easement by implication or estoppel based on what happened 60 years ago. It would not be by prescription.

I have yet to do a complete owner history on this building I'm in. But I would agree with your thinking that my building, or at least the lot it sits on was originally owned by the neighboring property who owns the driveway.
And I would also agree that whoever was responsible for the design and construction of the building would not have done so without having the knowledge that there would be accessibility to it under some form of understanding.
According to the landlord, my building started out as a small structure at the rear of the lot and was successively added onto over the next 20 years, culminating in the long and comparatively narrow structure it is now.
Now, you use the term- easement by implication or estoppel. That is new to me, and I would like to know how that relates to my rights,if any, to access this building as it now stands.
Thanks for your time.