O'dell, v. Stegall

703 S.E.2d 561 (2010)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In 2006, P bought land and a home. P has a driveway that connects directly to a public road on the south side of his property. This dispute involves access from the north side. Directly behind and adjacent to P's property, Ds own land, and a home. D's property is 'landlocked' and surrounded on all sides by land owned by other individuals. This case concerns a private, 25-foot-wide gravel lane that borders on the northern edges of both D's and P's property. Ds do not own the gravel lane, but it is their only access to a public highway (the Leetown Pike/Route 15). P uses the gravel lane to access their property. D objected to this use because d was contractually obligated to maintain the gravel lane. P sued to quiet title and for a declaration that he had a prescriptive easement to use the lane. P claimed that the gravel lane had, 'by its nature and duration of its open, continuous, notorious and adverse use, as to any owner of the parcel' become a 'community driveway servicing as an ingress and egress easement' to the P's property. P got the verdict, and D appealed.