Opinion ID: 885574
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Bordas Lot

Text: ¶ 44 The Defendants, Eugene and Pauline Bordas assert that the District Court erred when it concluded that the bridle path easement had not been extinguished by adverse possession on their lot. They argue that because they and their predecessor in interest have maintained a fence which denies access to the bridle path since 1985, have paid all taxes on the property for over five years, and have maintained the riparian quality of Gooseberry Creek on their property, that they have satisfied the elements for adverse possession, thereby extinguishing the bridle path easement on their property. ¶ 45 The Plaintiffs do not dispute the factual assertions by the Bordases. However, the Plaintiffs contend that based on our decision in Halverson v. Turner (1994), 268 Mont. 168, 885 P.2d 1285, the Bordases did not satisfy the requirements to extinguish an express easement by reservation. ¶ 46 Extinguishment of an easement through adverse use by the owner of the servient tenement is accomplished in the same manner as acquisition of title by adverse possession and acquisition of an easement by prescription: open, notorious, exclusive, adverse, continuous and uninterrupted use for the five-year statutory period. Halverson, 268 Mont. at 174, 885 P.2d at 1290. ¶ 47 In Halverson we stated the following: A permanent easement by express reservation which is not used is not lost by prescription during a period of nonuse no matter how long it remains unused unless there is adverse use which is clearly inconsistent with the dominant tenement's future use of the easement. Moreover, the owner of the dominant tenement is not required to make use of the easement as a condition to retaining his interest in the easement. Thus, where an easement has been created but no occasion has arisen for its use, the owner of the servient tenement may fence the land and this will not be deemed adverse until such time as the need for the right-of-way arises and the owner of the dominant tenement demands that the easement be opened and the servient tenement owner refuses to do so. Halverson, 268 Mont. at 175, 885 P.2d at 1290 (emphasis added) (citations omitted). ¶ 48 The Bordases argue that Halverson is distinguishable because in Halverson the easement was for a roadway, whereas in this case, the easement is for horseback riding, a recreational use. However, the Bordases do not cite any authority for their position that an expressly reserved easement may be extinguished by fencing the easement when the easement is for recreational purposes, as opposed to an easement for road access. ¶ 49 We decline to limit our holding in Halverson to an expressly reserved easement for road access purposes as opposed to recreational purposes. Implicit within an express easement by reservation is the idea that the easement is reserved until such time the easement's use is requested. As we held in Halverson, fencing an expressly reserved easement is not an adverse use which is clearly inconsistent with the dominant tenement's future use of the easement. We did not then, nor do we now, limit our holding in Halverson to road access. The fence built by the Bordases is no more inconsistent with the use of the easement as a bridle path, than with use as a road. Neither is the fact that the Bordases maintained the riparian quality of the easement on their lot sufficient to establish adverse possession. ¶ 50 Accordingly, we conclude that our holding in Halverson applies to this case, and that obstructing the bridal path by erection of a fence was not adverse until such time as the owners of the dominant tenements demanded that the obstruction be removed and the Bordases refused to do so. Because the first demand that the easement be made available for use occurred at the 1995 annual Association meeting, the earliest the five-year period for an adverse possession claim could have begun to run was 1995. The five-year period had not been satisfied by the Bordases at the time this litigation was commenced. As a result, we conclude that the District Court did not err when it held that the bridle path easement on the Bordases lot had not been extinguished by adverse possession.