Opinion ID: 2525514
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: An easement may be extinguished by prescription.

Text: Alaska Statutes govern the acquisition of rights in another's property by adverse possession and the establishment of an easement by prescription. [5] In both cases, a person must use the land for a period of ten years absent color of title before bringing a claim. [6] But no statute speaks to the questions raised here: whether and to what extent an easement can be extinguished by prescription. The Hansens ask us to hold that easements may never be extinguished by prescription. They cite 2003 legislative amendments curtailing adverse possession in arguing that [t]ermination of an easement by prescription is contrary to the public policy of the State of Alaska. We find this argument unpersuasive. In amending the statutes governing adverse possession, the Alaska Legislature increased the burden that a litigant bears in proving adverse possession of another's land. [7] But it did not eliminate adverse possession and prescriptive easement claims altogether. We find no support for such a categorical rule allowing easement holders to seek redress for violations of their rights in an easement in perpetuity. Instead, we follow the approach adopted by the Restatement (Third) of Property [8] and many jurisdictions [9] and hold that an easement can be extinguished by prescription.