Opinion ID: 1347916
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Woods' Claim to Route 1.

Text: The Woods' right to a prescriptive easement is clearly established by the record. The Woods testified that Route 1 was the only access to the property when they purchased their lot in 1984. They asserted that their use of Route 1 began in 1984; that they had never sought permission from Colella to use the access and that Colella, who at all times had knowledge that the Woods were using Route 1 across his property, never acted to curtail their usage. Although the Woods acknowledged that in 1989 they began to use Route 2 at the request of Ray Colella, the Woods testified that their use of Route 1 was not altogether eliminated but instead continued until 1994, when the right of way was obstructed by Colella's successors, the Hoglunds. A trier of fact may not arbitrarily disregard credible and unimpeached testimony of a witness. Dinneen v. Finch, 100 Idaho 620, 627-28, 603 P.2d 575, 582-83 (1979). In a related vein, it has long been recognized that unless a witness's testimony is inherently improbable, or rendered so by facts and circumstances disclosed at trial, the trier of fact must accept as true the positive, uncontradicted testimony of a credible witness. Pierstorff v. Gray's Auto Shop, et al., 58 Idaho 438, 447, 74 P.2d 171, 175 (1937). In this case, the record discloses that the evidence from the Woods was not contradicted or disputed. Likewise, missing from the record is a finding by the district court that the Woods' testimony was not credible. Therefore, the district court's factual determination that the Woods' use of Route 1 was permissive is not only unsupported by the record, it is clearly contrary to the evidence presented and the presumption that the use was adverse. Applying the standard of clear error, therefore, we set aside the district court's finding of permissive use and hold that there is substantial evidence to find that the usage of Route 1 by the Woods originated as a claim of right and was adverse to the owner of the servient estate. The modified finding of adverse use for the prescriptive period completes the requisite elements of their claim to a prescriptive easement. Accordingly, we reverse the conclusion of the district court denying an easement over Route 1 to the Woods. We direct the district court on remand to enter a judgment granting the easement to the Woods over Route 1.