Baker v. Rice
Baker v. Rice
Opinion of the Court
Did the court err in its conclusion of law that the way over the defendant’s land passed as an incident to the lands of the plaintiff b3r the deed of her father? We think it did not.
It is true that at the same time the father conveyed to the plaintiff, he, through his daughter Nancy, conveyed to the defendant the land now owned by him; and if we were to consider this conveyance alone, the way in question would appear as a reservation by the father of a way over the granted lands in opposition to the covenants
We think the law well settled in this state, whatever the decisions may be in some of the others, and they are far from being in harmony, that where an estate is divided as was this one, each takes his part subject to or benefitted by such burthens as were openly and plainly attached to or imposed on it by the common owner in his use and enjoyment of the land at the time of the severance, and which on a severance would properly be termed easements or servitudes. Ignoring for the time the distinction between “continuing” and “discontinuing” easements, observed in some of the cases, the case of Elliott v. Sallee is directly in point. Edward Thompson was the owner of three mills on White Oak creek in Brown county. The lower mill was in part supplied with water by a tunnel constructed across the neck of a bend in the creek, so as to take the water from the creek above the dam of the middle mill, and was thereby, to that extent, servient to the lower mill. By deeds executed at the same time he divided these mills between his three sons, so as to give one of them to each. The plaintiff by purchase became the owner of the middle mill, and brought suit against the defendant, who had purchased the lower mill to recover for the diversion of the water from his mill by the tunnel. The court said: “On this state of facts it seems clear to us on every principle of reason and common sense that he (Edward Thompson) must have intended to grant to his sons respectively, and they must have expected to receive, each his mill with its appurtenances as it actually existed in
But it is claimed that only such easements as are termed “continuous” will pass by implication in a grant, and that such as are termed “discontinuous” will not. This is a distinction of the civil law, and has been incorporated in the law of some of the states, particlarly Maine and Massachusetts. The former are such as operate without the intervention of man, such as drains and sewers; the latter require the intervention of man in their use, such as ways. The distinction is. somewhat arbitrary and is not uniformly adopted, as will appear from the eases cited. The better rule, and the one now more generally adopted, is, not to consider the particular kind of easement, but whether it is apparent, designed to be permanent, and is reasonably necessary to the use of the premises granted. See the eases of Kieffer v. Imhoff, Phillips v. Phillips, Cannon v. Boyd, U. S. v. Appleton, Paine v. Chandler, Mutual Life Ins. Co. v. Patterson, supra. In Phillips v. Phillips, it is said “It may be granted that the continuance of drains, water pipes and mill-races may more distinctly indicate their permanent and essential nature than a private way.' but when the permanency of the way is proved, confessed, or not disputed, the difference vanishes; they stand upon the same footing.” In Paine v. Chandler, the court, after laying down the general rule, said; “The learned counsel for the appellant does not attack the principle, but his contention is, that the easement involved in this controversy is of the class known as ‘discontinuous’ and such an easement passes by implication only when absolutely necessary to the enjoyment of the property conveyed. To use his
The case of Prarieis’s Appeal, 96 Penn. St., 200, to which our attention has been called, has been carefully examined, but we do not think that it in any way affects or modifies the previous decisions of that court. Prom the finding- made by the master as to the nature and character of the uses there claimed as easements, on a severance of the properties, he could not well have held otherwise than, he did.
Much importance is attached to the conclusion of law drawn by the court from the finding of facts, that the way in question is not a way of necessity. There is some room for doubt as to whether this conclusion from the facts found, was well drawn. But • conceding that it is, still the authorities cited show, that in the case of a grant, this is not material where the way in question is reasonably necessary to the enjoyment of the land granted, and materially adds to its value. Phillips v. Phillips, 48 Penn. St., 178,
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.