Traders, Inc. v. Bartholomew
Vermont Supreme Court
459 A.2d 974 (1983)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
In 1976, Traders, Inc. (plaintiff) purchased land directly to the south of land owned by Bartholomew (defendant). Bartholomew’s and Traders’s properties had once been under common ownership but were severed in 1931. The severance landlocked the property that was to become Traders’s. A former town highway ran on the north boundary of Traders’s property, but the highway was entirely on Bartholomew’s land. In 1908, the town discontinued using the road as a highway. From 1943 to 1976, Traders’s predecessor in interest used this road for ingress and egress to the property. Traders brought suit seeking a judgment declaring an easement by necessity. The trial court found that Traders’s predecessor in interest had established a prescriptive easement that was limited to ingress and egress. Traders appealed, arguing that the easement should be one of necessity and should not be limited by any prior use but should extend to accommodate any reasonable present or future use of Traders’s property.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Billings, J.)
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