Psyco Neighbor Blocking Easement

[BelleBoyd]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tennessee

I hope I have this in the right section. We have a neighbor across from us who is pushing boundries with other neighbors including myself.
It is a small subdivision of six houses. The road is a dirt road and even though it is shown on her property, there is clearly and easement. We've already gone to the county and they showed us, and told us, she only owns it on paper. But physically doesn't own it.

Two days ago she and her husband proceeded to put cinder blocks and piping on a area of the road that is getting torn up because the other side of the road is eroding away. This is because this neighbor over the past year has diliberatly filled in the drainage ditch including cementing over the pipe going under their driveway to block drainage.
Well, my next door neighbor went out to confront her. My neighbor next door is 64 and an itty bitty thing, and she told them that they cant block the road because of the easement. Our psyco neighbor went balistic and started cursing her out. I went out and she turned like a viper on me and came after me with a hammer. Then proceeded to tell me to fix the "blanky blank road" or she was going to "kick my blanky blank butt"
It resulted in me calling the cops and three of them showed up and said they had a "coming to Jesus" talk with her and informed her she cant block the road because she doens't own it.

This psyco neighbor told me I cant use the road, and I asked her why she suddenly had a problem with me she said "because you smart mouthed me!!" The truth is we had a new modular home brought in and she is upset over it. the woman has mental problems. then she claims she is going to dig a ditch on our side of the road and I told her she couldn't as it was our property and she claims that is all her property. I have a plat I got from the county several months ago showing clearing where the road ends, my property begins.

Any advice on how I should deal with this woman??

 

[justalayman]

first, without an actual survey, you are really guessing as to where the property lines are. Along with that, unless you have rights afforded you to the easement in some document (usually within your deed), you may be counting on rights you do not have. Read the granting document for the easement to see what rights you do have.

as to maintenance: generally is it the dominant tenants (that would be you and the others that use the easement) responsibility to maintain the easement. If you aren't, then you are causing some of the problem yourself.

 

[BelleBoyd]

We have all the plats from the county showing the road is on her property but it clearly states there is a easement for all the neighbors. Without the road I would not be able to access my property. It also states that all homeowners are responsible for maintaining it. Which is not the problem.

the problem is that this one woman claims that she owns it, and she doens't. the county has said it as well as the cops when they showed up the other day after she made a spectacle of herself in the middle of the road.

How is it we are causing part of the problem, if she filled a drainage ditch in intentionally so now the road is being washed out because of it?
Why should the rest of us homeowners pay to fix the road when she intentionally caused the damage herself?

 

[154NH773]

If you are correct in that you have an easement (which it seems you do), then; if she is causing damage to the easement you may have to go to court to stop her, or ask for her to pay for repairs.

The chance of your convincing her of how an easement works is slim. She, like many other people, believe that their ownership of the land (and she does indeed own it) trumps your rights under any easement agreement. Maybe you could have a lawyer write her and explain your rights, and the consequences of her blocking those rights.

 

[justalayman]

regardless of what anybody else says, yes, she does own the land the easement crosses. While she has no right to interfere with your use of the easement, she still owns the land and has a right to use it or alter it in any manner she desires as long as she does not interfere with your right to use it.


Now, don't take that as I believe she is correct in what she is doing. It is quite the opposite.

I agree with the other poster as to what action may be the best first step from here. All the dominant tenants of the easement can share the cost of the lawyer who can write a letter to the servient tenant explaining the rights of each party. Actually heading to court can be quite expensive and result in a nasty (ier?) situation. Some level of communication where neither party feels forced to do something they don't want to do usually results in the best outcome.

 

[BelleBoyd]

We went to the county clerks office, and they themselves said she only owns the road on paper and that she cannot change anything about the road. Nor place cinder blocks in it to prevent others from using it.

When the subdivision was put in place, there was an engineer who determined where the drainage ditch would go, and she is trying to change the location of the drainage ditch on her own. she thinks she can just fill the present one in and then dig one on our land. I have our plats showing where the road ends, our property begins.

But ya'll are right, I think I need an attorney to right her up a letter telling her that. Perhaps she'll finally get it through her thick head

 

[justalayman]

BelleBoyd;2941457]We went to the county clerks office, and they themselves said she only owns the road on paper and that she cannot change anything about the road. Nor place cinder blocks in it to prevent others from using it.

I'm going on what you are saying here regarding the ownership and allowed use of the road. If it is merely an easement, yes, she does own the property the road crosses and as long as she does not interfere with the dominant tenants rights, she can alter the road. Of course, placing blocks in the road would be interfering with your rights to use the roadway/

When the subdivision was put in place, there was an engineer who determined where the drainage ditch would go, and she is trying to change the location of the drainage ditch on her own. she thinks she can just fill the present one in and then dig one on our land. I have our plats showing where the road ends, our property begins.

she cannot do anything on your property. That would be trespassing along with a possibility of a couple other charges.

It almost sounds like this might be a roadway that is dedicated for public use. In a subdivision, the roadways often become public ROWs. If so, the local government should be getting involved in this. This is why it is important to know how you are granted the rights you have. If it is a dedicated public ROW, it would be a lot less expensive for you as you should not have to deal with this directly with the other party.

But ya'll are right, I think I need an attorney to right her up a letter telling her that. Perhaps she'll finally get it through her thick head

It also isolates you from direct contact with her that may turn into something you don't want to be involved in. When you contact a lawyer, you should refrain from any contact with the neighbor and direct her to deal with your lawyer. The last thing you need is a shouting match, or worse, over the roadway.

 

[BelleBoyd]

I'm going on what you are saying here regarding the ownership and allowed use of the road. If it is merely an easement, yes, she does own the property the road crosses and as long as she does not interfere with the dominant tenants rights, she can alter the road. Of course, placing blocks in the road would be interfering with your rights to use the roadway/

she cannot do anything on your property. That would be trespassing along with a possibility of a couple other charges.

It almost sounds like this might be a roadway that is dedicated for public use. In a subdivision, the roadways often become public ROWs. If so, the local government should be getting involved in this. This is why it is important to know how you are granted the rights you have. If it is a dedicated public ROW, it would be a lot less expensive for you as you should not have to deal with this directly with the other party.

It also isolates you from direct contact with her that may turn into something you don't want to be involved in. When you contact a lawyer, you should refrain from any contact with the neighbor and direct her to deal with your lawyer. The last thing you need is a shouting match, or worse, over the roadway.

Oh believe me, I dont want any contact with her at all! She already came at me with a hammer and the cops told her not to contact me or otherwise they would be invovled.

thanks for the input!!

 

[Terminus]

First of all (and this is a huge pet peeve of mine) unless the county clerk is a lawyer or surveyor they don't have the legal right to announce to you the location of the boundaries or rights you have. Lawyers and surveyors go through extensive training on these matters and are certified by the state and bar (for lawyers). What the clerk has done can definitely be construed as either practicing land surveying or law and they should cease such activities as it appears you are getting word from a county employee with some degree of bearing as opposed to a forum like this one.

So your neighbor (the serviant estate) has an easement across her property to yours (dominant estate) for ingress, egress, etc. By your own admission you have plats showing this. So the truth, as others have said, is she owns the fee title in the property the easement crosses. YOU have been granted the right (through the easement) to use this property. So you have the right to use it even though she owns it. The serviant estate has to allow you use of the easement as described and granted.....no more no less. So she can do what she wants with the property as long as it doesn't hinder your use of the property (and that includes changing the ditchlines as long as the changes don't infringe on your right to to use the easement and are on her property).

She doesn't have the right to block your passage to and from your property over this easement. That said, a quick letter from an attorney should rectify the situation.

Then the next issue is getting the neighbors together to maintain the road and share the costs (since you cited the deeds stated homeowners are responsible for maintenance I doubt this is a DOT R/W). This in the end may be your bigger battle.

 

[woodisgood]

We went to the county clerks office, and they themselves said she only owns the road on paper and that she cannot change anything about the road.

In most states, county employees cannot provide any legal advice. Are the county clerks attorneys or judges? ....I didn't think so.

Is there a legal document granting and describing an easement over your neighbor's property for your property's use? If not, then you have not legal rights to access the road across her property. The exception would be a claim of adverse possession by prescriptive use. Most states require a 20 year time period of continuous, uninterrupted, adverse use in order for a claim of prescriptive easement to stick.

If there is a document granting an easement, then hire an attorney to draft a cease-and-desist letter outlining your dominant estate interest to the easement. Request that a mediation take place between the parties involved. Oftentimes, two lawyers discussing the issue during a mediation session will often open the eyes of the person clearly in the wrong. If mediation is denied by your neighbor as a solution, then your attorney should send a letter stating that injunctive relief will be sought in court should her interference with the easement continue. I would recommend that your attorney also outline the costs that would be involved if the case has to be resolved in court (it will be very expensive!).

Do not get emotionally charged in the issue. Be kind and courteous to your neighbor - both verbally and in writing. Should the issue go to court, a judge will be much more sympathetic to the party that's not being a jerk, which could result in the awarding of all attorney fees and costs should your neighbor lose.

 

[FarmerJ]

If the clerks told you she cant do any thing then they should be able to provide proof , see where im going with this EG my original property lines now extend into what is the middle of a paved county road to the north and a gravel TWP road to the west, so YES on paper that land is part of the original property but in all seriousness I do not have any other use of it other than for travel along with general public so the useable land I have is actually less but county takes care of county road and all plowing of county and twp roads and twp does the grading and adding gravel to the twp road. SO that said is this road truly a private road or is it a govt owned road now? see If the road was installed by twp even if minimal maint does twp-county have recorded easement -records to back up what the clerk said? if not and its truly a private road then its up to the other owners one by one or as a group who would be harmed by her acts to use civil court system to wake her up. Part of what is discussed with a atty may be to learn if the county can maintain the road as it might for twp and county roads and bill each party for the services or what would have to be done to convert it to county owned road or what kind of agreement if all can come to one would be needed to maintain the road other wise another creative solution is as soon as she sells some day for one or all of you others to buy her property then have a atty make the changes needed so that homes lot becomes smaller and the rest of you all or one of you has owner ship of the road then to re sell the home with the recorded new change so nothing like this can happen again.