Opinion ID: 2112519
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Denial of the plaintiffs' request for permission to pave the right of way to the Town Road

Text: The plaintiffs were denied permission to pave the right of way to the Town Road on the authority of Littlefield v. Hubbard, 120 Me. 226, 230, 113 A. 304, 306 (1921), where this Court stated that an easement for a right of way, without more, does not permit the grantee to disturb the soil upon the fee of the owner of the servient estate. Accord: Mumrow v. Riddle, 67 Mich.App. 693, 242 N.W.2d 489 (1976); Lorenc v. Swiderski, 109 N.J.Eq. 147, 156 A. 465 (1931). But see Baer v. Dallas Theater Center, 330 S.W.2d 214 (Tex. Civ.App.1959). Even though the paving of the right of way may presumably suit the convenience of the owners of the dominant estate and provide some economic benefit, nevertheless, such material change in the surface of the right of way may give rise to an added burden on the servient estate, such as subjecting it to rapid transit of motor vehicles near the defendant's home and posing safety problems to the occupants thereof which a country way may not generate. We are not convinced that the ruling in Littlefield has become obsolete and should be overruled for any so-called modern doctrine. The trial Justice reached a correct conclusion on this issue.