Question

  

Ovid owned 40 acres of timberland in the mountains just east of La Sierra State Park. His property began at the western terminus of County Road 69. He used the property for camping and fishing, and built no permanent structures thereon. In 1941 he sold the western 20 acres to Livy. Because no access existed to Livy's 20 acres from any public road, the deed conveying title expressly created an appurtenant easement for ingress and egress to the parcel sold along a 20 feet wide strip of land on the southern border of the retained 20 acres. However, about the same time that the Ovid-Livy sale took place, the county extended Road 69 so that it continued westward along the northern border of Ovid's retained 20 acres and abutted directly on the 20 acres sold to Livy. In 1946 Livy built a cabin on his land, using County Road 69 to bring in the necessary equipment and materials. In 1955 Ovid sold the retained 20 acres to Tacitus. In 1967 Livy sold his 20 acres to Olivia. Tacitus bought Olivia's property in 1972. In 1980, Tacitus sold the 20 acres he had purchased from Olivia to Lucretia. In 1984 Tacitus sold the 20 acres he had purchased from Ovid to Appolonia. All deeds involved in the various conveyances of the 20 acre parcels were validly recorded shortly after the relevant transactions. Neither the Tacitus-Lucretia deed nor the Tacitus-Appolonia deed made any mention of easements or rights-of-way. Until 1985 no use was ever made by any person of the 20 foot strip along the southern border of the easterly 20 acres.

In 1985 Lucretia sold her 20 acres to Mountain Development Corporation (MDC). MDC wishes to build a hunting lodge on the property and their architect has tentatively sited the building in a manner that would make access to the parcel via County Road 69 impracticable. You are MDC's legal counsel and must advise whether MDC may make use of the 20 foot right-of-way along the southern border of the property owned by Apollonia. You should conclude that:

Question 5 options:a)MDC has no right to use the strip, because any easement existing prior to 1985 was extinguished by abandonment.b)MDC has no right to use the strip, because any easement which once existed was terminated by merger.c)MDC may use the strip, because Tacitus had constructive notice of the easement which he purchased from Ovid.d)MDC may use the strip, because Lucretia acquired an easement by implication when she purchased from Tacitus, and said easement passed to MDC when it purchased the dominant estate.Original fact pattern: Ovid owned 40 acres of timberland in the mountains just east of La Sierra State Park. His property began at the western terminus of County Road 69. He used the property for camping and fishing, and built no permanent structures thereon. In 1941 he sold the western 20 acres to Livy. Because no access existed to Livy's 20 acres from any public road, the deed conveying title expressly created an appurtenant easement for ingress and egress to the parcel sold along a 20 feet wide strip of land on the southern border of the retained 20 acres. However, about the same time that the Ovid-Livy sale took place, the county extended Road 69 so that it continued westward along the northern border of Ovid's retained 20 acres and abutted directly on the 20 acres sold to Livy. In 1946 Livy built a cabin on his land, using County Road 69 to bring in the necessary equipment and materials. In 1955 Ovid sold the retained 20 acres to Tacitus. In 1967 Livy sold his 20 acres to Olivia. Tacitus bought Olivia's property in 1972. In 1980, Tacitus sold the 20 acres he had purchased from Olivia to Lucretia. In 1984 Tacitus sold the 20 acres he had purchased from Ovid to Appolonia. All deeds involved in the various conveyances of the 20 acre parcels were validly recorded shortly after the relevant transactions. Neither the Tacitus-Lucretia deed nor the Tacitus-Appolonia deed made any mention of easements or rights-of-way. Until 1985 no use was ever made by any person of the 20 foot strip along the southern border of the easterly 20 acres. For the purpose of this question only, assume that Country Road 69 was never extended beyond the eastern border of Ovid's 40 acres, and that no use was ever made of the westerly 20 acres. When Lucretia purchased the westerly 20 area from Tacitus, did she also acquire an easement for ingress and egress across the easterly 20 acres?

Question 6 options:a)No, any easement which might once have existed was terminated when Tacitus became the owner of the entire 40 acres.b)No, since Tacitus never made use of the 20 foot strip, no easement was created when he sold the westerly 20 acres to Lucretia.c)Yes, since Lucretia succeeded to ownership of the dominant estate, the easement originally granted to Livy was passed to her.d)Yes, an easement implied by necessity was created when the 20 acres was sold by Tacitus to Lucretia.