In the recent case of RANCH AT THE FALLS, LLC v. Keith O’Neal et al., a ranch owner tried to establish prescriptive or equitable easement rights along private roads to reach her ranch. Ms. Hart prevailed at the trial court level but was not so fortunate on appeal. California’s second Appellate District concluded that Ms. Hart had failed to meet the hostility requirement to establish prescriptive easement.

Ms. Hart use the private roads from 2002 until 2012. However because Ms. Hart also owned several properties within the homeowners associations named in the lawsuit, she was personally entitled to use the private streets of the communities. The court cited Witkin, noting “Prescription cannot be gained if the use is permissive.”

One California Appellate Court Grants Marin County Neighbor Irrevocable Parol License But Denies Equitable Easement. Another Denies The Accommodation of a Trivial Expense.

by Julia M. Wei, Esq. and Alexander J. Lewicki, Esq.

Neighbor disputes over shared boundaries can arise over a misplaced fence, a shared driveway, or water rights. These claims are heavily fact-based and often the accuracy of the modern survey can only be overcome with meeting the elements for adverse possession or prescriptive easement.

In recent decades California courts have fashioned various remedies instead, such as the equitable easement and even the “irrevocable parol license” over someone else’s property.