Opinion ID: 2513925
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Easements by Estoppel

Text: I would also decline to apply principles of easement by estoppel, because there is no showing here of misrepresentation or concealment of material facts by Beaubien or any of his successors in interest. Thompson defines the elements for an easement by estoppel as: (1) conduct, acts, language or silence amounting to a representation or concealment of material facts; (2) the party to be estopped either knows the facts or the circumstances require the facts to be imputed to that party; (3) the truth about the facts must be unknown to the party claiming benefit of the estoppel at the time they were acted upon; (4) the conduct must occur with the intention or expectation that it will be acted upon, or under the circumstances that it is both natural and probable that it will be acted upon; (5) the conduct must be relied upon by the other party, and, thus relying, the other party must be led to act upon it; and (6) the other party must in fact act upon the conduct and change position for the worse. 7 Thompson, supra, § 60.03(b)(3). In Colorado case law, easement by estoppel can sometimes arise out of a parol agreement that intends to convey a certain right as a mere license; however, there must be conduct on the part of the party against whom the easement is being asserted that amounts to a false representation or concealment of material facts. Pagel v. Reyman, 628 P.2d 166, 168 (Colo.App.1981) (holding that the plaintiffs failed to establish the elements for an easement by estoppel in a case involving a road easement for a trailer park) (citing Aubert v. Town of Fruita, 192 Colo. 372, 374-75, 559 P.2d 232, 234 (1977)). [11] The majority relies upon two cases for the proposition that the facts before us in this case support an easement by estoppel. Both are water cases, and both deal with the acquisition of ditch rights by parol agreement. Both are inapposite, in my mind, because they are predicated on the underlying policy that is expressed as follows: It is indeed a generally prevailing state policy in those states dependent upon irrigation largely for successful agriculture, both in the interest of economy and to prevent any unnecessary waste of land in the construction and use of ditches, that, where one ditch can answer the purpose of more, the right to use the same ditch is granted to others than the owners. Hoehne Ditch Co. v. John Flood Ditch Co., 68 Colo. 531, 540-41, 191 P. 108, 112 (1920). In both cases, Hoehne and Graybill v. Corlett, 60 Colo. 551, 553, 154 P. 730, 731 (1916), the court permitted the establishment of a ditch right-of-way by estoppel without the necessary element of misrepresentation of a material fact, but only in the context of water rights. To the contrary, in Bijou Irrigation District v. Empire Club, 804 P.2d 175, 185-86 (Colo.1991), we declined to permit the petitioners from asserting that the Irrigation District was estopped from objecting to use of a reservoir for recreational purposes because, although the District had knowledge of the facts, there were no findings regarding unreasonable delay in the assertion by the District of its rights. Also on point is Holbrook Irrigation District v. Arkansas Valley Sugar Beet & Irrigated Land Co., 42 F.2d 541 (D.Colo. 1929), in which the plaintiffs sought certain water rights by operation of estoppel. The court there noted that equitable estoppel requires overt acts and declarations of the party charged, designed to induce another to alter his position to his detriment all of which must be proven by clear and convincing evidence. Id. at 548. There has been no showing in this case that Beaubien or Gilpin either misrepresented material facts or intended the landowners to rely to their detriment upon a parol agreement. Indeed, to my knowledge, the only context in which such a doctrine has been applied to the acquisition of easements has involved ditches and ditch rights, an area in which rights are so firmly entrenched as to be included within the Colorado Constitution. [12]