Opinion ID: 3181497
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Creation and Location of the Beach Easements

Text: [¶56] With the exception of Bolan and Lawrence, each of the neighboring property owners derives title through source deeds that expressly grant “use of the beach for boating and bathing purposes.” Bolan and Lawrence derive title through a common source deed that instead expressly grants “all riparian rights and shore privileges of every nature.” All of the neighboring property owners’ source deeds 10 Because the Gravisons do not own the beach in front of their property, they have no standing to contest the trial court’s conclusion that the neighboring property owners hold easements over that beach. See Chase v. Eastman, 563 A.2d 1099, 1103 n.6 (Me. 1989) (“In order to have standing to [contest] a claim . . . a party must assert a personal stake in the outcome of the litigation and present a real and substantial controversy touching on the legal relations of parties with adverse legal interests.”) (alteration omitted) (quotation marks omitted). Though Titcomb could have contested the court’s determination regarding the beach easements, it focused solely on defending against the easements over the perimeter path. We consequently address only the beach easement issues raised by the Edwardses, and confine our analysis of rights in the beach to the intertidal area that the Edwardses own. 30 that convey beach rights or shore privileges refer, in some fashion, to the Blackinton Plan. [¶57] In Edwards, we discussed the effect of Cora’s express annexation of appurtenant benefits to an inland lot owned by the Scotts—who are not parties here—by way of a 1924 deed that referred to the Blackinton Plan and conveyed rights to “use of the beach for bathing and boating purposes.” 2015 ME 165, ¶¶ 39-41, --- A.3d ---. In interpreting that deed, we determined that Cora had incorporated the plan for the purpose of designating the location of the beach. Id. ¶ 40. “When construed in conjunction with the plan’s unrestricted depiction of an intertidal area,” we concluded that the meaning of the deed’s reference to “the beach” was obviously “to grant rights in the intertidal area depicted on the plan.” Id. ¶ 41. Because the record demonstrated that the Edwardses’ beach was shown on the plan, and that Cora owned the Edwardses’ beach in 1924, we affirmed the court’s conclusion that the beach rights granted by the 1924 deed encumbered the Edwardses’ intertidal area. Id. ¶¶ 40-41. [¶58] Pursuant to the same analysis as that employed in Edwards, we conclude that the Edwardses’ intertidal area is encumbered by easements that benefit all of the neighboring property owners other than Bolan and Lawrence. The record demonstrates that all of the neighboring property owners derive title through source deeds that refer to the Blackinton Plan and expressly grant beach 31 rights or shore privileges. All of the neighboring property owners other than Bolan and Lawrence also derive title through source deeds that contain the foregoing plan reference and express grant and were executed before 1927, when Cora conveyed title to the intertidal area that is now owned by the Edwardses. [¶59] As demonstrated by the deeds in their respective chains of title, Bolan and Lawrence both claim deeded “riparian rights and shore privileges” solely through Cora’s 1934 source deed to Studley, discussed supra. Studley’s deed was executed after Cora conveyed title to the Edwardses’ intertidal area in 1927 and thereby divested herself of the ability to create new easements over that area. See Dorman v. Bates Mfg. Co., 82 Me. 438, 448, 19 A. 915 (1890) (“One can not convey land, nor create an easement in it, unless he owns it.”). Because Cora lacked the ability to create a new express easement over the Edwardses’ beach after she sold it in 1927, Studley did not acquire any rights in that beach through his deed in 1934. Bolan and Lawrence, who derive deeded shore rights through the Perrys solely by way of Studley, do not hold any rights in the Edwardses’ beach. [¶60] All of the other neighboring property owners derive title through source deeds that grant beach rights and were executed before Cora conveyed the beach that is now owned by the Edwardses. Like the deed at issue in Edwards, the deeds at issue here refer to the Blackinton Plan for the purpose of locating 32 easements in the beach. 2015 ME 165, ¶ 40, --- A.3d ---. The Edwardses’ beach is included in the intertidal area shown on the Blackinton Plan. We therefore conclude that the neighboring property owners, other than Bolan and Lawrence, benefit from easements over the Edwardses’ beach.