Opinion ID: 883948
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: neighborly accommodation

Text: Rafanelli next advances two arguments relating to his position that the Dales' use of Route B was not adverse because it was based on neighborly accommodation. It is well-settled that a prescriptive easement cannot be established where use of a neighbor's land is based on neighborly accommodation or courtesy because such use is not adverse to the owner of the land. Public Lands, 856 P.2d at 528. Rafanelli contends that the statements in the Carsons' 1972 and 1973 letters show that the Carsons allowed the Dales to use the access on a neighborly accommodation basis. We disagree. The letters clearly state that access would be permitted only if the Dales sought permission from, and made arrangements with, the Carsons to use the roads. To the extent the letters relate to the question of neighborly accommodation, they are evidence tending to show that the Dales' access was not by way of neighborly accommodation, because neighborly accommodation does not require permission at every passing. See Lemont Land Corp. v. Rogers (1994), 269 Mont. 180, 186, 887 P.2d 724, 728. Rafanelli also contends, in this regard, that the District Court misinterpreted June Thomas' testimony insofar as it related to adverse use or neighborly accommodation when it found that she felt the Dales had a right to access Beall Canyon across Whiterock Ranch and that the Thomases did not attempt to control the Dales' access. June Thomas testified by deposition that when she and her husband purchased the Whiterock Ranch in late 1986, the Dales were primarily using Route B to reach Beall Canyon. She also testified that she and her husband never tried to restrict the Dales' use of the access road and, although she thought the Thomases could control where the access was, she believed the Dales had the right to cross the ranch to reach their Beall Canyon property. Although the District Court did not specifically find that June Thomas' testimony either supported or did not support its finding that the Dales use of Route B was adverse, the court made note of those portions of her testimony indicating that she and her husband thought the Dales had the right to cross Whiterock Ranch to reach Beall Canyon and that the Thomases did nothing to control the Dales' access. Rafanelli contends that June Thomas' testimony was consistent with his theory that use of the road was by neighborly accommodation and that the District Court erred when it failed to find that her testimony supported that theory. The District Court found that the Dales' use of Route B had been adverse to the Carsons' ownership, rather than permissive, since 1972. Therefore, the Dales had established the statutory five-year period of adverse use well before the Thomases purchased Whiterock Ranch in 1986. As a result, it is not relevant whether the Thomases thought the Dales' use of Route B was by permission, by neighborly accommodation or by right.