Limitations of usage, prescriptive easement

[jlast]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

Hello,

We own 200+ acres of wooded property. There is an old road, now only accessible to ATVs (very rough), that runs from the state road through one neighbor's property ("property A") and our property ("property B") and onto a third property ("property C"), which is forested, no houses or buildings. It is a "landlocked" property as far as I know, and the understanding among the neighbors has always been that the owners of C have a right-of-way easement on this old road through A and B. This easement has never been an issue for the owners of A or B, because the owners of C simply use the road for recreational access, clearing it once a year and riding ATVs in during hunting season.

After researching title deeds for the properties in question, we can find no written mention of the easement in the deeds of A or B, but we know from the neighbors that that old road has been in use by that family since at least the 1980's, when the present owners of A purchased the property. They have the key to the gate on the main road, and nobody takes issue with their established use of this road. Now, however they've begun a logging operation and want to improve the road, laying gravel and culvert pipes, etc. for logging trucks to come in and out, through properties A and B. They already have access to their land through another easement (the legal status of which I don't know anything about) and have a graveled road there already which up to this point they have used for their logging access, but claim that improving this other road will give them a substantially more convenient route. This is adverse to both us (the owners of B) and the owners of A.

We hope to be able to work this out as neighbors. I would like to know, though, are there any legal limitations of the type of use of an easement such as this? To my knowledge, it has simply been used as recreational/hunting access for the last few decades, at least. Do they have any legal grounds for being able to make improvements to this road as described?

Thanks very much,
Jacob

 

[154NH773]

There are several things you should determine.
1.What is the legal status of their other access.
2. What was the chronology of land transfers that created a land-locked situation.
3. Who gave them "permission" to use the access through A& B, and a key to the gate? Try and get statements from former owners regarding this.

If they have other access, and their use through your property is permissive, their use of your property is essentially a money saving route for them, and perhaps they would agree to compensate you in some way and restore the land after they are done. You'd be amazed how quickly the land will grow back after they leave, and they probably won't need to return for 20-30 years, if ever.

 

[jlast]

Thanks for the reply.

One other fact: we know from the owner of property C that this old road has existed at least back to 1900, and until the 1940's or 50's there were houses back there along the road, as well as a sawmill. Presumably this road was used for logging/milling purposes way back then. Combined with the fact that logging would naturally be done only every 40-50 years, would they for that reason still be able to claim this as a logging access, even if it's only been used as recreational access for the past several decades, and regardless of the objections of the present owners of the properties through which their claimed easement passes? Is there a distinction between these types of usage in the first place? It seems to me there would be a distinction between commercial and non-commercial usage, but maybe I'm wrong.

Also, where does adverse use come in here? Is it relevant, given that the present owners of A and B don't object to hunting/recreational access?

Jacob

 

[154NH773]

Also, where does adverse use come in here? Is it relevant, given that the present owners of A and B don't object to hunting/recreational access?

Thus; my question:

Who gave them "permission" to use the access through A& B, and a key to the gate? Try and get statements from former owners regarding this.

Also; since you now refer to it as a "road", I suggest you research with the municipality to see if at any time this was a "road" that might have been abandoned or discontinued.