Full question:
A Brick 2ft x 6ft Barbecue pit was built on property "A" 30 yrs ago. Four different residents have lived at Property "A." The most recent is 14 years. Property " B" believes that 1 ft of the BBQ pit is on his property. An official land survey agrees. Property " A" states that "prescriptive easement" entitles him to keep the BBQ pit and not remove it from property line. The prescriptive easement term is 15 years in Michigan. Does the 15 years prescriptive easement include the predecessors of property " A" or just the recent owner of 14 years of property "A"?
- Category: Real Property
- Subcategory: Easements
- Date:
- State: Michigan
Answer:
In Michigan, the prescriptive easement period is 15 years. This means that if someone uses a portion of another's property openly and without permission for that duration, they may gain the right to continue using it. In your situation, the key question is whether the time that previous owners of Property A occupied the BBQ pit can be combined with the current owner's 14 years to meet the 15-year requirement.
The case of Freed v. Cloverlea Assn. illustrates that tacking—adding the possession periods of previous owners—can be permitted under certain conditions. If the predecessors used the disputed area in a manner consistent with ownership, and if this use was continuous and notorious, then the current owner may be able to include their predecessors' time in the total required for a prescriptive easement.
However, if the current owner cannot prove that the predecessors' use was adverse (meaning it was without permission and clearly defined), then the current owner's claim may fail. Therefore, it is crucial to establish whether the previous owners also used the BBQ pit in a way that would support the claim of a prescriptive easement.
In summary, as long as the use by the previous owners of Property A was adverse and continuous, the current owner can include their time to meet the 15-year requirement for a prescriptive easement.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.