Silacci sought a declaration of his rights with respect to the disputed property, and Abramson cross-complained to quiet title to a prescriptive easement over the land. After a court trial, the court found that Abramson had an exclusive prescriptive easement over the fenced-in portion of Silacci's property. The court noted that Abramson's use of the disputed property during the statutory period was exclusive and his continued use of the easement was to be exclusive, as well. It is from that judgment that Silacci appeals. The only issue to be resolved in this case is the propriety of the trial court's award to Abramson of an exclusive prescriptive easement for an enclosed yard.
Adverse possession is a means to acquire ownership of land.
In adverse possession, the claimant must prove open and notorious use, hostile to the true owner, for a period of five years, and he must also show that he has paid taxes on the parcel of land. Real Property, sections 93-110, pp. By comparison, an easement is merely a right to use the land of another. With an easement, the owner of the burdened land is said to own the servient tenement, and the owner of the easement is said to have the dominant tenement. Every incident of ownership not inconsistent with the enjoyment of the easement is reserved to the owner of the servient tenement.