Sunday, April 28, 2013

Warsaw v. Chicago Metallic Ceilings, Inc. case brief

Warsaw v. Chicago Metallic Ceilings, Inc. case brief summary
676 P.2d 584

CASE SYNOPSIS: Appellant property owner sought review of a decision from the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (California), which awarded respondent neighboring property owner a prescriptive easement over appellant's property and ordered appellant to dismantle and relocate a structure erected on appellant's property, but which interfered with respondent's use of his prescriptive easement.

FACTS: Appellant property owner sought review of a decision which awarded respondent neighboring property owner a prescriptive easement and ordered that appellant relocate a building that interfered with respondent's use of the easement. The lower court affirmed the trial court's decision.

ISSUE:
On appeal the court addressed whether respondent should be required to compensate appellant for the easement and the cost of relocating the structure.

HOLDING:
The court answered no and held that respondent had acquired a valid prescriptive easement by using a portion of appellant's property for the time required by statute and that to have respondent compensate appellant for the easement would contradict the long-standing intent of the statutes that encouraged the use of land rather than nonuse.

ANALYSIS:
The court also held that it would be within the discretion of a court of equity to order a party to compensate another for the relocation of a structure that encroached on an easement but not in this case because appellant willfully erected the structure with the knowledge that respondent had filed an action for a prescriptive easement.

CONCLUSION: The court affirmed the judgment which awarded respondent neighboring property owner a prescriptive easement over appellant property owner's land and ordered appellant to dismantle and relocate a structure that interfered with respondent's use of the prescriptive easement, because respondent had acquired a valid prescriptive easement and appellant's building, erected after litigation began, encroached on the easement.

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