Opinion ID: 1059034
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: jones property

Text: Jones owns approximately 63 acres of real estate that it acquired by deed in 1952. The deed described the tract as lying on both sides of Brightwell [R]oad. The property lies adjacent to and south of the Thomas parcel, and adjacent to and west of the Amstutz property over which the disputed roadway traverses. The president of Jones testified that, since the acquisition of its property, the company has used the road in question from time to time [f]or the purpose of inspecting the timber, checking lines, disease control  bugs, and determining when to cut the timber and reforest the area. The only access to the Jones property was via the road across the property now owned by Amstutz, according to Jones' president. The company had never been denied use of the roadway until Amstutz blocked the route. The timber on the Jones property was harvested in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Daniel F. Mastin, Sr., age 76, testified that he had harvested timber during the same time period but on property located adjacent to the Jones property. Mastin had been familiar with the disputed roadway all his life and had used it when he cut timber on the adjacent property. However, he stated that, during his timber harvest, only empty logging trucks exited via the road over the property now owned by Amstutz while the loaded trucks exited in the opposite direction on Brightwell Road. Several other witnesses testified as to their use of the disputed road. One had traveled over the roadway to reach the Jones property in 1973 for the purpose of conducting a land and timber appraisal for the company. Others had accessed the Jones property via the disputed road at various times during the last 30 years in order to inspect growing timber, prepare a timber management plan, or flag the property lines. In fact, records from the Virginia Division of Forestry showed that seed trees had been marked on the Jones property in 1956. However, a natural resource specialist who had worked on both the Jones and Thomas parcels testified that he had permission from Chesapeake's foresters to travel across Chesapeake's land (now owned by Amstutz) when he had inspected the Jones tract. Other testimony also revealed that hunters had used the road for many years. The witnesses generally agreed that the only access to the Jones property was by way of the disputed road across the Amstutz property.