Horner v. Heather
Court of Appeals of Texas
397 S.W.3d 321 (2013)
- Written by Eric Cervone, LLM
Facts
Joe Heather (defendant) inherited farmland from his father. Rebecca Horner (plaintiff) inherited adjacent land from her father. Prior to these inheritances, Horner’s father told Heather’s father that he could use a road that ran through Horner’s property and connected Heather’s property with a main road. Horner testified that her father told her that he let Heather’s father use the road, but that the permission would be revoked if Heather’s father disturbed any part of the land. After Horner inherited her property, Heather approached her and asked if she would give him an easement over the roadway. When Horner declined, Heather filed suit, stating that a right to the roadway existed, that the representation was communicated to Heather and his predecessors, and that the Heathers believed and relied on that representation. Heather testified that when he and his father made improvements to their property, they never relied on any representations made by the Horners. Additionally, Heather did not make any improvements on the surface of the claimed easement. The trial court entered a judgment awarding an easement by estoppel to Heather. Horner appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Worthen, C.J.)
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