What Does The Easement Say?

Some of the biggest real estate disputes I’ve handled have started with a document that may be only a few paragraphs long: an easement. Easements are everywhere. Utilities use them for pipelines and transmission lines. Developers rely on them for access and infrastructure. Property owners inherit them when they buy property. And they’re often ignored—until somebody wants to do something the other side doesn’t like. And in eminent domain proceedings, public agencies and utilities oftentimes pay little attention to the easement terms or how broad or narrow they’ve defined the rights being acquired. 

Can the owner build over it? Can the utility expand its facilities? Who has access and from where? Can the easement be relocated? Does it allow new technology or a different use than what existed when it was granted? Is it assignable? Can the property still be developed as planned? Those questions can have enormous consequences for a project, or a property’s value, or a determination of