Carnahan v. Moriah Property Owners Association, Inc.
Indiana Supreme Court
716 N.E.2d 437 (1999)
- Written by Colette Routel, JD
Facts
In 1972, 1984, and 1987, Donald and Joyce Carnahan (plaintiffs) purchased lakefront property along with a half-acre of Lake Julia’s 22-acre lakebed. The Carnahans used electronic motors on this private, nonnavigable lake to propel a ski boat, wave runners, and a houseboat. They tried not to bother other property owners by restricting their use to times when no one was fishing on the lake. Still, their use was visible to other property owners, who often waved as the Carnahans drove by. In 1991, the Moriah Property Owner’s Association (association) (defendant) obtained property rights to Lot 8, which included almost 65 percent of Lake Julia’s lakebed. The association created a restrictive covenant for Lot 8 that preluded motorized use on the waters above the lot. The Carnahans sued the association claiming that they had a prescriptive easement allowing them to continue to use motors on Lake Julia, including on the waters above Lot 8. The trial court concluded that the Carnahans had established a prescriptive easement enabling them to use motors on the waters above Lot 8. The association appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Sullivan, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
