Opinion ID: 2112519
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Plaintiffs' easement respecting the use of a spring and the court's failure to allow damages for its blockage

Text: The plaintiffs challenge the trial Justice's rulings concerning their right of access to a particular spring on the defendant's property, which Bruk filled in. They contend that the defendant's action in relation to this spring constituted a tortious interference with their easement and entitled them to an award of damages. The trial Court found that, although the plaintiffs' deeds did grant them an easement to use a spring on the Bruk property, they did not specify any particular spring. The Court concluded that, unlike the easement of the right of way to the Town Road, the plaintiffs had failed to prove that the location of the right of way to a spring had ever been fixed. The record supports the trial Justice's ruling that the plaintiffs failed to carry their burden of proof on this issue. Although one spring was filled in, other springs on the defendant Bruk's property remain accessible to the plaintiffs, from which one may be selected for the exercise of their right to take water from a spring on Bruk's property. There was no error in rejecting the plaintiffs' claim for compensatory damages for interference with their right of access to a spring.