easement access issue

[another-user]

What is the name of your state? - michigan

hey guys, heres where im at right now...

im on a private driveway with 3 other houses (4 houses total), theres only one road in/out of our area.

were scheduled to have natural gas brought in to our little area, but the company needs driveway easement forms signed by each house. one neighbor is refusing to sign it stating that "god told her not to sign the easement , and that were currently at the end of times/rapture/apocalypse, so its not necessary to have gas brought in" shes also worried about the gas company stealing her land, mineral rights, and poisoning her well, and making it not possible to sell her house/property (she thinks if we get gas put in, it can never be removed so we could never sell the land to a developer) kinda shows what were dealing with here...

ive been living here the longest and have a signed easement/maintenance document in my hands, but it only has my signature and the original signatures from when it was signed 30-ish years ago. none of the current residents have seen, signed, or even know about it.

outside of going to a lawyer and having a new document drafted (and im sure she would refuse to sign it anyways), is there anything i can do?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? - michigan

hey guys, heres where im at right now...

im on a private driveway with 3 other houses (4 houses total), theres only one road in/out of our area.

were scheduled to have natural gas brought in to our little area, but the company needs driveway easement forms signed by each house. one neighbor is refusing to sign it stating that "god told her not to sign the easement , and that were currently at the end of times/rapture/apocalypse, so its not necessary to have gas brought in" shes also worried about the gas company stealing her land, mineral rights, and poisoning her well, and making it not possible to sell her house/property (she thinks if we get gas put in, it can never be removed so we could never sell the land to a developer) kinda shows what were dealing with here...

ive been living here the longest and have a signed easement/maintenance document in my hands, but it only has my signature and the original signatures from when it was signed 30-ish years ago. none of the current residents have seen, signed, or even know about it.

outside of going to a lawyer and having a new document drafted (and im sure she would refuse to sign it anyways), is there anything i can do?

Does the easement document you have allow for utilities to be brought in, or is it for ingress/egress only?

 

[154NH773]

I think you will need the assistance of a good land use attorney.
In many states the courts have determined that an easement, even for only ingress and egress, implies a utility easement. You may have to go to court to get a determination. If you do go to court, she would probably have to substantiate her claims, which could be difficult for her.

 

[HRZ]

You can probably record the easement you hold ......and play a poker game as to its validity

IF she chose to challenge it All bets are off, ...but if we are at the end of times why would she bother ?

 

[another-user]

Does the easement document you have allow for utilities to be brought in, or is it for ingress/egress only?

i honestly dont know. i havnt actually looked at it in years, i just know i have it and that its locked up with my other important papers.

 

[HRZ]

Read it. And important to sort out if it actually was recorded.

 

[FarmerJ]

SO exactly where do the electric lines that service your home come in from ? reason I ask is because if the electric company has lines underground or on poles that follow the same route that the gas co would use then it might be worth asking the gas co why they need a new easement instead of putting lines in along current easement routes ? ( im tired , bed time)

 

[another-user]

SO exactly where do the electric lines that service your home come in from ? reason I ask is because if the electric company has lines underground or on poles that follow the same route that the gas co would use then it might be worth asking the gas co why they need a new easement instead of putting lines in along current easement routes ? ( im tired , bed time)

theyre aerial lines. if you looked at an overhead view of our properties, it kinda looks like a giant ? shape,. the lines only cover a very small portion of our driveway, then cut over the neighbors property.

 

[FarmerJ]

I suggest you go get a copy made of the original easement and just keep a copy of it at home so if you need to refer to it you will have it handy , ( I was curious re the route of the electric but understand some times telephone and electric companies went the shortest possible routes to get services to homes which some times didn't follow roads or driveways ) Also I too live in a rural area with on site propane tanks but the company I buy from offers a pre buy program ( letter just came a few days ago) where one can pre buy at a set price up to 500 gallons to be delivered later in the heating season . So If it works out that the gas co cannot run the needed line perhaps going pre buy could save you some money.

 

[another-user]

I suggest you go get a copy made of the original easement and just keep a copy of it at home so if you need to refer to it you will have it handy , ( I was curious re the route of the electric but understand some times telephone and electric companies went the shortest possible routes to get services to homes which some times didn't follow roads or driveways ) Also I too live in a rural area with on site propane tanks but the company I buy from offers a pre buy program ( letter just came a few days ago) where one can pre buy at a set price up to 500 gallons to be delivered later in the heating season . So If it works out that the gas co cannot run the needed line perhaps going pre buy could save you some money.

now that you mention in, our phone line is not aerial but instead runs alongside the driveway underground. found that out the hard way some years ago....

the money part isnt much of an issue, we only use propane for the water heater, stove, and dryer. a full tank lasts us a long time. for winter we heat 99% with wood from our property, and have a fuel oil backup. which has been broken for the last 2-3 years actually, so its been 100% wood lately.

the natural gas is more of a convenience thing more than anything.

 

[justalayman]

I’m not sure what you have in your hand but the only signature needed on a grant of easement would be that of the grantor. The actual grant and the maintenance agreement if written by the grantor would be enforceable through the associated language within the grant. There would be no reason for you or any other dominant tenant to sign anything.

Now if you signed a maintenance agreement between the land involved landowners, unless it was attached to the various properties properly, it wouldn’t be enforceable against anybody unless they specifically agreed to it.


The bigger issue you have is no matter what you have, if the gas company’s policy is they have a written statement agreeing to the gas line, unless they have one, they don’t have to install the line. The only exception to that is if the gas utility is a public utility. Then you may be able to for d them to install the line by using the courts.