Opinion ID: 2513925
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Implied Servitudes

Text: An easement is created if the owner of the servient estate either enters into a contract or makes a conveyance intended to create a servitude that complies with the Statute of Frauds or an exception to the Statute of Frauds. Restatement, supra, § 2.1. Servitudes that are not created by contract or conveyance include servitudes created by dedication, prescription, and estoppel. Those which are not created by express contract or conveyance are the implied servitudes, which may be based on prior use, map or boundary descriptions, necessity, or other circumstances surrounding the conveyance of other interests in land, which give rise to the inference that the parties intended to create a servitude. Id. § 2.8 cmt. b; see also Wright v. Horse Creek Ranches, 697 P.2d 384, 387-88 (Colo.1985)(noting that an easement may be established by necessity; by preexisting use; by express or implied grant; or by prescription); Wagner v. Fairlamb, 151 Colo. 481, 484, 379 P.2d 165, 167 (1963)(noting that implied easements are not expressed by the parties in writing, but ... arise[ ] out of the existence of certain facts implied from the transaction). Easements can be implied in a number of situations. Easements created by prescription, Restatement, supra, § 2.17; easements by estoppel, id. § 2.10; and easements implied from prior use, id. § 2.12, are the most relevant to this case. We discuss each of these in turn, discussing both Colorado case law and the Restatement, which is consistent with our precedent. An easement by prescription is established when the prescriptive use is: 1) open or notorious, 2) continued without effective interruption for the prescriptive period, and 3) the use was either a) adverse or b) pursuant to an attempted, but ineffective grant. Id. § 2.17, § 2.16. A court can imply an easement created by estoppel when 1) the owner of the servient estate permitted another to use that land under circumstances in which it was reasonable to foresee that the user would substantially change position believing that the permission would not be revoked, 2) the user substantially changed position in reasonable reliance on that belief, and 3) injustice can be avoided only by establishment of a servitude. Id. § 2.10. Whether reliance is justified depends upon the nature of the transaction, including the sophistication of the parties. Id. § 2.9 cmt. e. The Restatement does not have a requirement of deception, neither does Colorado. [8] See Graybill v. Corlett, 60 Colo. 551, 154 P. 730 (1916); Hoehne Ditch Co. v. John Flood Ditch Co., 68 Colo. 531, 191 P. 108 (1920). An easement by estoppel is an equitable remedy. It recognizes that when a landowner induces another to change position in reliance upon his promise, he is estopped from then denying the existence of the rights simply because they did not meet the formal conveyance rules. The rule is founded on the policy of preventing injustice. Id. § 2.10. Colorado law has repeatedly recognized this equitable right. For example, in Graybill, we examined a landowner's right to maintain a water ditch across the land of his neighbor. The owner of the servient estate had granted the owner of the dominant estate the right to establish a ditch across his land. This was an oral promise; the parties did not comply with conveyance and recording formalities. 60 Colo. at 552, 154 P. at 730. In reliance on the parol agreement, the owner of the dominant estate used the ditch as the irrigation source for his land and cleaned, repaired, and made improvements to the ditch. Id. On these facts, we noted that, [i]t is too well settled to require discussion that under the circumstances above stated a licensee holds under an irrevocable license, and his right is as valid as if acquired by grant. Id. at 553, 154 P. at 731; see also Hoehne Ditch Co., 68 Colo. 531, 191 P. 108 (applying the well settled rule that although an oral contract relating to realty is within the statute [of frauds], where a consideration has passed, and it has been fully performed by both parties and possession taken in pursuance thereof, the bar of the statute is removed and equity will enforce the right thus acquired). An easement implied from prior use is created when 1) the servient and dominant estates were once under common ownership, 2) the rights alleged were exercised prior to the severance of the estate, 3) the use was not merely temporary, 4) the continuation of this use was reasonably necessary to the enjoyment of the parcel, and 5) a contrary intention is neither expressed nor implied. Restatement, supra, § 2.12; see also Lee v. Sch. Dist. No. R-1, 164 Colo. 326, 435 P.2d 232, 235-36 (1967); Proper v. Greager, 827 P.2d 591, 593 (Colo.App.1992). The rationale for this servitude is as follows: The rule stated in this section is not based solely on the presumed actual intent of the parties. It furthers the policy of protecting reasonable expectations, as well as actual intent, of parties to land transactions. Restatement, supra, § 2.12 cmt. a. Colorado has long applied this implied easement. This court has found an easement from prior use in Lee. In Lee, the owner of one parcel of land claimed a right of way across his neighbor's land to access his property. The servient and dominant estates had once been under common ownership and this right of way was used before the severance of title. Seven years after the severance of title, the defendant bought the servient estate and attempted to block the right of way, claiming a lack of an enforceable agreement. This court found that an easement from prior use had been established. Lee, 164 Colo. at 333, 435 P.2d at 236. Similarly, the court of appeals found an easement from prior use in Proper. There, the plaintiff landowner used his neighbor's land to access his property. This use had begun when the two plots were under common ownership. Although the neighbor allowed this use, there was no formal agreement. The neighbor sought to rescind his permission after twenty-five years of the easement's use, and to construct a fence. Proper 827 P.2d at 592. The court found that under these facts, an easement from prior use had been established. Id. at 594. Having outlined the law of implied easements, we now turn to the facts of this case.