Boundary disputes are commonplace for homeowners, and the attorneys at Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. are well equipped and more than prepared to handle every manner of these neighborly disputes.
Through title insurance, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. represented the defendants in this particular action. The parties to this action shared a common driveway by virtue of an easement contained in the deeds for the defendants’ property dating back to the 1920s, which permitted the defendants egress over the westerly four feet of the plaintiffs’ property.
The plaintiffs installed a fence on the common driveway, which fence infringed upon the easement area. After the defendants complained to the city, seeking to revoke the plaintiffs’ permit for the fence, the plaintiffs commenced an action pursuant to Article 15 of the New York Real Property and Proceedings Law, seeking a judicial declaration that the easement was extinguished due to the defendants’ purported non-use.
Using their expertise in the law of easements, the attorneys at Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. argued that easements by grant can only be extinguished by abandonment, conveyance, condemnation, or adverse possession. In this case, the plaintiffs made no allegations of conveyance, condemnation, or adverse possession. They claimed that the easement had been extinguished because the defendants had ceased using it. However, in order to demonstrate an easement has been extinguished by abandonment, the plaintiffs were required to demonstrate that the defendants have unequivocally demonstrated an intention to abandon the easement. Mere non-use is not enough.
The strength of this argument and the tireless work of Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. were instrumental in achieving a highly favorable settlement for the client. In exchange for a small monetary payment, the plaintiffs: (a) consented to a judicial declaration stating the easement was to remain in full force and effect, which declaration was recorded in the land records, and (b) agreed to remove the fence, allowing the defendants access to the portion of the property that was previously inaccessible due to the illegal fence.
Jackie Halpern Weinstein and Courtney J. Lerias secured this victory for the defendants.
