Easement/Trespassing

[adjusterjack]

They are about 1/4mile off the black top,

Which black top? 17 Mile Rd or the un-named street east of you? Either way they would need easements through other properties that they would probably have to sue for and then incur the cost of installing a driveway. You would like them to do that but they have no obligation to do it. Especially since they can just ignore your protestations and keep using the existing driveway until you are willing to spend the money to go to court on it. The risk there is that the neighbor behind you could be entitled to an easement by necessity (even if the northern neighbor might not be) for the shortest distance between his property and Division St which, you guessed it, is the driveway that exists now.

Still curious as to how the 1947 easement reads.

 

[welkin]

Still curious as to how the 1947 easement reads.

There may not be any languish granting the easement. It may be an easement by a recorded subdivision plat.

If the state subdivided the land in 1947 to sell parcels and depicted the easement on the plat to get to a landlocked parcel and then recorded the plat, the easement to the back lot is a grant.

The most recent case from court of appeals,

"When a person purchases property that is recorded in a plat, the purchaser receives both the interest described in the deed and the rights indicated in the plat." Morse v Colitti, 317 Mich App 526, 534; 896 NW2d 15 (2016). Once granted, neither party may modify an easement unilaterally. Schadewald, 225 Mich App at 36.

 

[tim m larabel]

Here is a document i have that in my opinion covers everything. It is a contract between 2 parties. The easement involves 3 parties. Originally the state of Michigan and now me. Neither is listed as a party in this contract. Therefore, i want my land excluded from the contract.
Tried uploading.....too big.
Let me ask you this Welkin and Adjusterjack, what would you do in my situation ?? Don't care to spend 10 to 15k on this. But, very irritating that a large part of your property is being used by Rude neighbors. ?? What would you do ??

 

[zddoodah]

what would you do in my situation ?

Hire an attorney.

 

[tim m larabel]

Talked to live and in person 3 different attorneys. All had different answers.
Please see attached. Resized contract between the two neighbors listed. I'm not a party and do not want to be. How to fix

 

[army judge]

What would you do ??

I can't answer for anyone but lil, ole me.

I'd place my property on the sale block and begin searching for another abode.

 

[tim m larabel]

Great time for selling. Really bad time for buying.

 

[welkin]

Here is a document i have that in my opinion covers everything. It is a contract between 2 parties. The easement involves 3 parties. Originally the state of Michigan and now me. Neither is listed as a party in this contract. Therefore, i want my land excluded from the contract.

Your property is not included in the contract (grant) so how can it be excluded? It doesn't apply to you. It is between two property owners that bought property from the state and they agreed to a common driveway (an easement across their land). But at some point there was a grant of an easement across your property before you bought it. And you did buy the property knowing that there was an easement across it. How that easement came about is a matter of record at the county level and I don't think you have done any research to find out how it came about.

My guess is that when you bought the property from the state there was a problem to get to the land locked back parcel and an easement was created across you property to get to it before it was sold to you.

I suspect that the two parcels that made the contract and the easement across you land have nothing at all to do with each other.

Let me ask you this Welkin and Adjusterjack, what would you do in my situation ?? Don't care to spend 10 to 15k on this. But, very irritating that a large part of your property is being used by Rude neighbors. ?? What would you do ??

You either do the research as to how the easement was granted across you property, hire someone to do the reach, hire an attorney to file a quiet title lawsuit, or learn to live with it, or sell the property and move on. As I said before, you knew the property was encumbered by the easement when you bought it. You can't change it now and I suspect that some of those attorneys you spoke to told you so.

No court will extinguish an easement that will land lock a property. There is much case law and doctrines about easements that do not permit land locking property.

 

[tim m larabel]

Your property is not included in the contract (grant) so how can it be excluded? It doesn't apply to you. It is between two property owners that bought property from the state and they agreed to a common driveway (an easement across their land). But at some point there was a grant of an easement across your property before you bought it. And you did buy the property knowing that there was an easement across it. How that easement came about is a matter of record at the county level and I don't think you have done any research to find out how it came about.

My guess is that when you bought the property from the state there was a problem to get to the land locked back parcel and an easement was created across you property to get to it before it was sold to you.

I suspect that the two parcels that made the contract and the easement across you land have nothing at all to do with each other.



You either do the research as to how the easement was granted across you property, hire someone to do the reach, hire an attorney to file a quiet title lawsuit, or learn to live with it, or sell the property and move on. As I said before, you knew the property was encumbered by the easement when you bought it. You can't change it now and I suspect that some of those attorneys you spoke to told you so.

No court will extinguish an easement that will land lock a property. There is much case law and doctrines about easements that do not permit land locking property.

Some of what you said is correct. Most is not. First, didn't know how much of my property was involved with the easment until i had a survey done in 2016. So 5yr now.
Second , the easement was created for consumers power utility company back in 1947. The contract just took the coordinates and cut and pasted it to their contract. Sweet deal cause the burdened property only has half the easement on it when all of it should be on his property not mine.
Nothing to do with locking someone out of their property. Has to do with a contract between 2 parties. I am not listed in the contract nor is the state. Therefore , my property should not be involved. The state of michigan does not grand easements to John Q Public. Only utilities. No adverse possession either can be claimed against the state of michigan.
The 2 parties in the contract never did a survey to know where their properties were. Or maybe they did and patted themselves on the back for putting a little burden on the state , now me. Stealing is stealing. And selling property you don't own is stealing
I should do that with the national forest i have surrounding my property up north. Like ops i must have included and extra 200 acres when i fenced my property in. Oh well, public land , no one will care.

 

[Tax Counsel]

I should do that with the national forest i have surrounding my property up north. Like ops i must have included and extra 200 acres when i fenced my property in. Oh well, public land , no one will care.

Except that the feds have the advantage in that federal law does not allow for claims of adverse possession of U.S. government property.

 

[tim m larabel]

Well technically the property is not landlocked because of the easement. If not for the easement the property would be landlocked. And that is why that easement will never be extinguished. It is against public policy to create or have landlocked properties.




My guess is that buyers of property don't know or understand what an easement is or why they are granted.

Again, i am not wanting any easement to be extinguished. Just moved to the party involved in contract's property. Seems pretty simple to me.
When i bought property from state, they did a rough survey. Didn't show any back boundries just the front. I can ask the state if they have that survey. I don't have it.
And again, State of michigan does not grant private party easements. They will however, grant special use permits allowing for access to and from said "land locked" property. And yes , that grant cost you an annual fee. Just like my property up north surrounded by national forest.

 

[army judge]

Seems pretty simple to me.

Then start doing something.
There is nothing that any online discussion forum can do, other than offer you suggestions.
However, you can retain the services of an attorney you trust to make sure something gets done.

Good luck.

 

[welkin]

Again, i am not wanting any easement to be extinguished. Just moved to the party involved in contract's property. Seems pretty simple to me.

Then you get the parties to agree to move the easement. That is about the only way it will happen.

You're like a dog chasing his tail. Round and round you go and do nothing to move forward. Hirer an attorney to check into the situation or keep chasing your tail.

 

[tim m larabel]

I was just served a summons. My neighbor is suing me for an easement. He wants court to designate him a prescriptive easement or whatever adjective you want to put on it.
I have 21 days, now 15, to respond.
The neighbors to the north are in a contract with them for a driveway. I am not a party to that contract nor was the state of Michigan, the previous owner. The driveway meanders over my property line. Therefore my neighbor is being counter sued for trespassing and damage to my property.
Should i respond in writing or get an attorney ??
Thanks. Tim

 

[tim m larabel]

Reality check: Your neighbors are stonewalling you because it costs them nothing to stonewall you while they keep using the driveway. They are betting that you don't want to spend the money to take it to court and they don't have to spend a dime to continue the status quo.

Here's an option. You'll have to accept the risk of getting sued but it will put the ball back in their court. Buy some 300 lb boulders and line them up just inside your property line (decorative landscaping) effectively cutting off that part of the driveway that crosses your property.

It looks like they will both still have enough room to get to those parking areas.

Then they have to decide if they want to spend the ten or fifteen thousand dollars to enforce an easement that might not be enforceable.

The boulders won't cost much and are easily movable if they decide to come to the table and negotiate a real easement that gives them a few more feet or if you back down from a lawsuit.

If you do get sued, your title insurance policy might pay for your defense.

I didn't get title insurance when I purchased the land from the state.
Said neighbor is now suing me for natural gas. Gas company put markers on my property for new gas lines coming through. I told them neighbor and I are in a land dispute. Gas company then removed marking flags. Neighbor was on fire.
Now suing me for the court to designate the driveway an easement. I am counter suing for trespassing and damage to my property

 

[justblue]

Easement/Trespassing · TheLaw.com

Some background.

 

[justblue]

I was just served a summons. My neighbor is suing me for an easement. He wants court to designate him a prescriptive easement or whatever adjective you want to put on it.
I have 21 days, now 15, to respond.
The neighbors to the north are in a contract with them for a driveway. I am not a party to that contract nor was the state of Michigan, the previous owner. The driveway meanders over my property line. Therefore my neighbor is being counter sued for trespassing and damage to my property.
Should i respond in writing or get an attorney ??
Thanks. Tim

You were told in 2021 to get an attorney by a couple of the members here.

 

[army judge]

You were told in 2021 to get an attorney by a couple of the members here.

 

[tim m larabel]

Well technically the property is not landlocked because of the easement. If not for the easement the property would be landlocked. And that is why that easement will never be extinguished. It is against public policy to create or have landlocked properties.




My guess is that buyers of property don't know or understand what an easement is or why they are granted.

Property "could" have access on the south going over state land. They would simply get a "special use permit" from state of Michigan

 

[zddoodah]

Should i respond in writing or get an attorney ?

I told you four times in April and June 2021 to get an attorney. Do you think I'm going to tell you something different now that you've actually been sued?