Opinion ID: 1509747
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Equitable Use Interests

Text: [¶ 32] The Eatons argue that the court erred in finding that the Town met its burden of proving an easement by prescription. The party asserting the easement must prove (1) continuous use (2) for at least 20 years (3) under a claim of right adverse to the owner, (4) with his knowledge and acquiescence, or (5) a use so open, notorious, visible, and uninterrupted that knowledge and acquiescence will be presumed. See S.D. Warren Co. v. Vernon, 1997 ME 161, ¶ 5, 697 A.2d 1280, 1282; Town of Manchester v. Augusta Country Club, 477 A.2d 1124, 1130 (Me. 1984). When the land is wild and uncultivated, Maine applies the rule that open and continuous use for the requisite length of time raises a rebuttable presumption that the use was permissive. See S.D. Warren Co., 1997 ME 161, ¶ 16, 697 A.2d at 1284; Town of Manchester, 477 A.2d at 1130. `The test of a public use is not the frequency of the use, or the number using the way, but its use by people who are not separable from the public generally.' S.D. Warren Co., 1997 ME 161, ¶ 16, 697 A.2d at 1284 (citation omitted). [¶ 33] The Eatons argue, inter alia, that the record was devoid of material evidence to support any of the elements and that the facts were similar to a previous, yet separate, case involving Moody Beach, in which another justice of the Superior Court rejected a finding of prescriptive easement. See Bell v. Town of Wells, 557 A.2d 168 (Me.1989). We review the trial court's factual findings in the present case as to the elements of a prescriptive easement for clear error and will affirm those findings if there is competent evidence in the record to support them even though the evidence could support alternative factual findings. See S.D. Warren Co. v. Vernon, 1997 ME 161, ¶ 5, 697 A.2d 1280, 1282. Although the trial court in the Moody Beach case may have reached a different conclusion based on the facts of that case, the trial court in this case is not bound by the trial court in another case. The determination is a factual issue and the court looks to the evidence presented in the case before it. Contrary to the Eatons' contention, the court had ample evidence in this case. [¶ 34] The court made the following findings: Beginning with William Eaton's conduct and continuing through the plaintiffs' conduct in 1983 and 1989, the Eatons acquiesced, rather than gave permission, to the public's right to use Wells Beach for a broad range of recreational purposes, ranging from strolling to sunbathing, picnicking, and swimming and all other recreational beachfront activities both on the dry sand and the intertidal zone. There was no evidence that the public ever sought or obtained permission to use the beach for said purposes, and the public has treated the beach as its own for recreational purposes. The public use intensified in the 1960s when the Town built a jetty that extends out into the Webhannet River in front of Wells Harbor. At this point the public could access the beach from either the southern end at the end of Mile Road or from the northern end at the jetty. Unlike the users of Moody Beach, with the exception of the owners of the few oceanfront lots having ownership to the Atlantic Ocean, all of the users of Wells Beach, including the lot owners on the east and west side of Atlantic Avenue, were public users. Even after the 1983 and 1989 takings, the Town continued to perform beach maintenance, such as lifeguard stations, cleaning the beach, policing the beach, and protecting the piper plover population, an endangered bird species. Contrary to the Eatons' arguments, the court did distinguish between the upland portions of the Eatons' property and the intertidal portions and did recognize the 2200 feet as made up of separate noncontiguous parcels, but found acquiescence of a broad range of recreational purposes both on the dry sand and in the intertidal zone and all along the beach from the Mile Road to the jetty. [¶ 35] The court had the testimony of Alberta Wentworth, Irene Brown, Hope Shelley, Robert Littlefield, and Edgar Moore, each testifying to the uses of the beach from the Mile Road to the jetty. Alberta Wentworth, a lifelong resident of Wells and 93 years old, testified that for as long as she could remember, the public has always been free to use the beach from the sea walls in front of the cottages to the low water mark. Irene Brown, age 76, born and raised on the Mile Road accessing Wells Beach, testified to her memories of the beach. She remembered playing on the beach from the time she was age four or five, through her teen years, from the 1920s to the 1940s. She also observed other people on the beach picnicking, having bonfires, and parties. She remembered the gypsies with ponies on the beach. She never saw anything preventing her from going on the whole length of the beach and has never sought permission to go onto the beach. She always treated it as a public beach. [¶ 36] Hope Shelley, age 66, town historian, former curator of the Wells Beach Historical Society, and author of Images of America: Beaches of Wells, testified from research that since 1850, the public has always used the beach for recreational purposes, such as swimming, walking, playing ball, racing cars, landing airplanes, beach parties, and school picnics. By identifying landmarks, clothing, and postmarks, she was able to identify and explain numerous postcards collected by her for her book showing people using Wells Beach in the area of the subject premises in the early 1900s. She also testified from town records that as far back as 1901 the Town put out garbage pails for health concerns, that beginning in 1937 the Town hired a police officer to patrol the beach, that in 1938 the Town hired someone to clean the beach, and that with increased tourism in the twentieth century the Town increased its summer maintenance to include life-saving equipment and toilet facilities and also added advertising and regulatory activities. [¶ 37] Robert Littlefield, age 81, former town manager, tax assessor, selectman and planning board member beginning in 1949, testified that Wells Beach is the lifeblood of the town. He had observed a lot of people on the beach when he was a child up to his teenage years. From 1950 to 1990, the Town had lifeguards and police for the beach, cleaned the beach, and had an advertising budget for the beach. The Town also regulated beach activity, such as posting signs prohibiting alcohol and requiring dogs to be on leashes. He neither personally nor on behalf of the Town ever saw any no trespass or private property signs on Wells Beach or ever sought permission to use the beach in 75 years. He always regarded it as a public beach. Edgar Moore, age 58, assistant road commissioner and a lifelong resident, testified that he has used the beach for recreational purposes since his childhood when he used to attend night parties, drag race on the beach, and walk up and down the beach. He also testified how the Town has maintained the beach. [¶ 38] In addition, Lisle Eaton testified that he never posted no trespass signs or private property signs. He never gave the public permission to use the beach. Nor did he ever give the Town permission to put lifeguard stands, garbage cans on the beach or to otherwise maintain it. Further, he was aware that, since 1983 and 1989, the Town continued to maintain the beach. [¶ 39] The Eatons also argue that, because they did not know they owned the property until 1983, they could not have acquiesced to the use. Because the court found that the public use was continuous for 100 years dating back to William Eaton's time, however, even if the court found that the plaintiffs did not know they owned the property until the 1980s, there was ample evidence that William Eaton knew of his ownership interest and acquiesced to the public use. Thus, the court could have found that a prescriptive easement had been established during that period. There was also evidence that the Town's use of the beach to maintain it went back to the early 1900s as well so that its prescriptive easement had also been established prior to the current Eatons' ownership. [¶ 40] Finally, the Eatons argue that the court's finding that a claim of right for purposes of prescriptive easement existed is inconsistent with its other finding that no claim of right for purposes of adverse possession existed. The Eatons fail to recognize, however, that the claims are distinct. [A]dverse possession concerns itself chiefly with the acquisition of a present possessory estate, that is, fee simple absolute ... Prescription, on the other hand, concerns itself wholly with the acquisition of rights in the land of another, such as easements. POWELL ON REAL PROPERTY § 91.01[3] (2000). The 1989 condemnation was for purposes of laying pipe and storing sand from dredging the harbor, a use separate and distinct from the use for recreational purposes and the use for maintaining the beach in terms of placing life-guard stands, trash bins, etc. The 1983 taking for accessways involved the right of access, whereas the prescriptive easement in this case does not involve the right of access but the right to use the beach once there. Even if the Town's actions represented an acknowledgement that the Eatons are the owners of the beach, those actions did not mean that the public or the Town were asking permission to use the beach for recreational or maintenance purposes. Therefore, the court did not err in finding that the Town proved every element of a prescriptive easement. Because we affirm the court's judgment concerning the public's and the Town's right to use the property through prescriptive easement, we need not address the alternative theory of dedication. [¶ 41] The Eatons also argue that, even if the court did not err in granting an easement, the scope of the easement, i.e., for general recreational purposes, is overly broad and vague, does not reflect the evidence presented at trial, and overburdens the Eatons' property. The Eatons also challenge the scope of the Town's right to use the beach for maintenance purposes. Even if the Eatons had properly preserved this argument, their claim fails. The issue whether a property is overburdened is a question of fact. See Gutcheon v. Becton, 585 A.2d 818, 822 (Me.1991). [T]he permissible uses of an easement acquired by prescription are necessarily defined by the use of the servient land during the prescriptive period. Id. cited in S.D. Warren Co. v. Vernon, 1997 ME 161, ¶ 13, 697 A.2d 1280, 1283. When presented with an alleged overburdening of a prescriptive easement, the factfinder must balance the prior use of the right of way established during the prescriptive period against any later changes in the method of use that unreasonably or unforeseeably interfere with the enjoyment of the servient estate by its current owner. Id. Not all changes in the use, however, will result in a per se overburdening of a prescriptive easement when the change does not manifest itself in some greater independent burden on the servient estate. Id. As to the argument that the description of the easement is too broad, we also apply the test that the scope of a prescriptive easement should be so limited as to prevent a clearly foreseeable overburdening. Id. at 823. [¶ 42] Even if we look to the use during the prescriptive period, contrary to the Eatons' argument, the language general recreational purposes adequately reflects the uses during the prescriptive period and would not unreasonably or unforeseeably interfere with the enjoyment of the servient estate by its current owner. As the evidence above shows, the court had competent evidence to support the language. Although the court listed certain recreational activities as examples, those were not the only recreational uses given in the testimony. As to the Town's right to maintain the beach, all of the uses provided were ways the Town used the property during the prescriptive period. Further, even if maintaining the habitat of the piper plover was not a use for 20 years, the use does not manifest itself in some greater independent burden on the Eatons' property. Thus, the court's conclusions concerning the scope of the easement were not clearly erroneous.