Zissler v. Saville

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Montecito neighbors had a dispute over an easement created by recording in 1994, which contained an unpaved road. The owner of the burdened property wanted the easement limited to historical use; a new owner of the other property wanted to use the road for construction traffic and asserted that he might pave the road. The trial court “interpreted” the easement, ruled that the easement was ambiguous, decided the case based upon extrinsic evidence of historic use, and added language limiting the easement. The court of appeal reversed and remanded with directions, noting that the use of the easement for construction traffic has become a moot issue. An ambiguity is not apparent from the “failure” to specify how frequently the road can be used or the type of vehicle allowed on the road, but ambiguity is not the test for admission of extrinsic evidence. A bona fide purchaser could reasonably rely on the language of the grant of the easement, which gave him “a use limited only by the requirement that it be reasonably necessary and consistent with the purpose[] for which the easement was granted,” i.e., “access, ingress, and egress to vehicles and pedestrians.” View "Zissler v. Saville" on Justia Law