Property Law

This lesson focuses upon a number of doctrines that are closely related to adverse possession of land. It includes a discussion of the following doctrines: agreed boundaries; mutual recognition and acquiescence; estoppel; good faith improvement; and the extent to which one can establish title to chattels by adverse possession (or by the operation of finding statutes).

This lesson introduces the law of easements by describing the typical scenario in which the need for an easement arises, examining alternatives to the creation of an easement, offering a legal definition of an easement and summarizing the key sub-issues that arise in this legal area.

This lesson examines the four traditional negative easements of air, light, support, and access to water from an artificial stream, as well as three modern negative easements: easements of view, solar easements, and conservation easements.

This lesson examines the distinction between easements appurtenant (easements that exist to benefit another parcel of land) and easements in gross (easements that benefit an individual or business entity without regard to his or its ownership of land). The distinction is a crucial one in determining who is entitled to the benefit of the easement and how the easement may be used.

This lesson introduces the student to the most common type of easement, the express easement. When we speak of an express easement we mean an easement that is voluntarily created by the parties to it. Express easements are to be contrasted with easements that are implied by law. Implied easements are the subject of another lesson.

This exercise examines the requirements for implication of an easement of necessity. Implied easements of necessity arise when, as a result of an owner of land transferring part of his land, either the transferred part or the retained part is landlocked such that the owner of that parcel cannot gain access to it.

This exercise introduces one of the most significant vehicles for acquisition of an easement without the agreement of the servient landowner. Prescriptive Easements (also known as Easements by Prescription) arise out of open, notorious, adverse and continuous use of another person's land for the statutorily determined period of time. Through this use, a person essentially "adversely possesses" an easement over another's land. This tutorial introduces the user to the significant hurdles that face a claimant of an easement by prescription.

This lesson examines the circumstances under which the law will imply an easement from prior existing use of the dominant and servient parcels. Each of the required elements for such implication: common ownership, prior use, severance and reasonable necessity are addressed specifically. The lesson also describes the different burden imposed when the common owner claims the benefit of the easement from that imposed when the grantee claims that benefit.

This lesson explores the myriad ways in which easements may be terminated. It begins by focusing on express termination, the most effective way to terminate an easement when the holder of the benefit of the easement agrees to terminate it. The bulk of the interactive tutorial deals with the more complicated problem of termination without the express consent of the benefitted party.

This lesson examines the law of licenses, specifically as that law intersects the law of easements. The Lesson first defines licenses and contrasts that definition with the definition of easements. It then explores the circumstances in which a license, normally revocable, becomes irrevocable and explains that an irrevocable license essentially gives the parties the same rights and duties as an easement would.

This tutorial is the first in a series of interactive tutorials written to assist the beginning student with a basic introduction to analyzing real covenants, equitable servitudes and similar use restrictions applied to real property. Once the student successfully completes the current lesson, he or she may later use the series of questions throughout this lesson as a preliminary review for a final examination.