Opinion ID: 2544453
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: implied easement theory

Text: In Neary v. Martin, 57 Haw. 577, 561 P.2d 1281 (1977), this court explained the theory of the genesis of an implied easement: All implications of easements necessarily involve an original unity of ownership of the parcels which later become the dominant and servient parcels. When A owns Blackacre, it is not possible for A as the owner of the west half of Blackacre to have a true easement with respect to the east half of Blackacre; but it is both possible and frequent to find A using the east half of Blackacre for the service of the west half of Blackacre, as for example, when the east half of Blackacre contains drains, or sewers, or irrigation ditches, or roadways or stairways which increase the usability of the west half of Blackacre. It is then possible to describe A's utilization of one part of Blackacre for the service of another part thereof as a quasi-easement, and to speak of the served part as the quasi-dominant tenement, and of the burdened part as the quasi-servient tenement. Where such a quasi-easement has existed and the common owner thereafter conveys to another the quasi-dominant tenement, the conveyee is in a position to claim an easement by implication with respect to the unconveyed quasi-servient tenement. Id. at 580, 561 P.2d at 1283 (quoting Tanaka v. Mitsunaga, 43 Haw. 119, 122-23 (1959) (in turn quoting 3 Powell on Real Property, § 411)). In addition to circumstances involving the conveyance of the former quasi-dominant parcel, the owner of the former quasi-dominant parcel, as the grantor, may also retain an implied easement over the former quasi-servient parcel if the former quasi-servient parcel is conveyed. See Neary, 57 Haw. at 580-81, 561 P.2d at 1284. In the instant case, WDC was the common owner of the mauka properties and Wailea Elua when WDC severed that ownership by selling individual condominium properties to Wailea Elua owners beginning at some point in the late 1970s. Because the issue in this case concerns whether WDC retained an implied easement to serve its mauka Golf Course over the property it conveyed to Wailea Elua owners, the Golf Course is the former quasi-dominant parcel and the Wailea Elua property is the former quasi-servient parcel. [7] The primary factor in determining whether WDC, as the grantor, retained an implied easement over Wailea Elua in favor of its mauka properties, is the parties' intent at the time WDC severed the parcels. See Neary, 57 Haw. at 581-82, 561 P.2d at 1284; see also Tanaka, 43 Haw. at 123 (the basis of an implied easement is the presumption of grant arising from the circumstances of the case); Henmi Apartments, Inc. 3 Haw.App. at 559, 655 P.2d at 885 (Whether an implied easement exists depends on the intent of the parties as shown by all the facts and circumstances under which the conveyance was made.). [8] Determination of the intention of the parties is a question of fact. See Neary, 57 Haw. at 582, 561 P.2d at 1284; Tanaka, 43 Haw. at 123; Henmi, 3 Haw.App. at 559, 655 P.2d at 885. At the summary judgment stage of this case, the only evidence introduced concerning WDC's intent at the time it severed the properties was evidence demonstrating that it intended to reserve an easement for the Golf Course. First, the documents suggested that WRC believed that it needed to reserve drainage easements for itself under the Wailea Elua property. Second, because the pipes served as receptacles for the water draining from the mauka properties, their location and arrangement suggests that they were intended, in part, to benefit the mauka portions of the common property and impose a servitude upon the Wailea Elua portion of the common property. WRC, on the other hand, presented no evidence regarding WDC's intent that contradicted the Association's evidence. WRC did not argue that it was not WDC's intent, as the original common owner, to create an implied easement. Instead, WRC argued that it had never owned the Wailea Elua property and was not involved in the designation of easementsan irrelevant argument given that the implied easement at issue was appurtenant to the land. See generally Peck v. Bailey, 8 Haw. 658, 661 (King.1867) (An easement appurtenant to land will pass by a grant of the land, without mention being made of the easement or the appurtenances.). Under these circumstances, the only evidence available to the trial court suggested that WDC installed the drainpipes at least in part to benefit the mauka properties. Given that the mauka drainage included drainage from a golf course, it would not have been incorrect for the trial court to believe that the golf course diverted the natural flow of surface water on the mauka properties and that the drainage system existed in part to collect the altered flow of runoff water. Indeed, this reasoning is supported by the trial court's statement that WDC obviously created the areas where the water collects.