Strahin v. Lantz

456 S.E.2d 12 (1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D owns approximately sixty acres of land, a portion of which is adjacent to County Route 5/10. P purchased a 5.75-acre tract of land from Richard Newman in August of 1992. To access the property, it is necessary to take Miner Road which is a dirt roadway off Route 5/10 that travels over D's property and leads to Miner Hollow. D owns approximately sixty acres of land, a portion of which is adjacent to County Route 5/10. When the local coal mine was in operation, many houses were located up Miner Hollow. Persons living up the hollow would travel Miner Road across D's property without her permission. A prescriptive easement was created across Miner Road. When the coal mine closed, the families moved away and the houses deteriorated. In 1985, D placed a gate across the road. The owners of the property up Miner Hollow continued to pass through the gate on occasion to access their property to cut grass, care for gardens, and hunt game. The issue in this case is whether the prescriptive easement created by the driveway leading from Miner Road to the homesite was extinguished by abandonment. P plans to construct a home on the tract. The circuit court found the prescriptive easement over D's land from Miner Road to the 5.75-acre tract was extinguished by abandonment. P appealed.