Opinion ID: 656671
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Ancient Easement.

Text: 21 Months after the court had granted summary judgment on whether the government could condemn the easement, Mr. Fiscalini sought to reopen the question at the pretrial hearing, ten days before the damages trial. His reason was that his attorneys had recently found old records in the recorder's office suggesting that there was already an easement across his land, so the condemnation was not necessary to provide highway access to the landlocked parcel. The documents did not prove this plainly and clearly. Rather, they gave rise to a possible inference. Furthermore, assuming the ancient easement exists, the condemnation might still have been necessary. The ancient easement is for a road twenty-five feet wide. The easement condemned by the government follows the path of the road, but is fifty feet wide. We cannot assume that a twenty-five foot wide easement, if it existed, would have obviated the need for a road on a fifty foot easement. 22 Law of the case doctrine gives a court discretion to reconsider an issue previously decided. Milgard Tempering, Inc. v. Selas Corp. of America, 902 F.2d 703, 715 (9th Cir.1990). The court barred introduction because the significance of the documents was not clear, Mr. Fiscalini had given no reason why these ancient documents could not have been found earlier, and summary judgment had long since been granted. The district court did not abuse its discretion. 23 AFFIRMED.