Hellberg v. Coffin Sheep Co.
Washington Supreme Court
404 P.2d 770 (1965)
- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
Hellberg (plaintiff) leased 3,000 acres of land from Coffin Sheep Co. (Coffin) (defendant). The lease was for a term of 10 years and included a provision that Coffin would sell the land to Hellberg at the end of that period. The parcel of land that Hellberg leased was completely surrounded by other land, most of which was owned by Coffin. The only access to the land was over a private road that traveled over Coffin’s land. At some point after the lease began, Coffin placed a padlock on a gate at the entrance to the road, effectively blocking all access to Hellberg’s parcel. Hellberg sued Coffin to prevent any interreference with its use of the access road and to have the road declared a public road. The lower court found that there was no other practicable access that could be used to access the parcel, that Hellberg had an implied easement to use the access road over Coffin’s land, and that the access road should be deemed a public road. Coffin appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Hill, J.)
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