United States: Easement Principles Thoroughly Discussed By Colorado Court Of Appeals

Last week, the Colorado Court of Appeals issued its decision in Gold Hill Development Company, L.P. v. TSG Ski & Golf, LLC, et al., 2015 COA 177.

Gold Hill Development Company ("GHDC") alleged that access to certain of its mining properties has historically been made by means of a trail known as the Gold Hill Road ("the route"), which traverses portions of TSG's properties, and GHDC claimed the right to use and maintain the route where it crosses over TSG's mining lode properties. Id. at ¶ 2.

While certainly not a sexy or groundbreaking decision, the Gold Hill opinion provides an excellent primer of Colorado law concerning easements.

For example, the trial court found a public prescriptive easement across GHDC's properties and included a detailed discussion of the legal requirements for the same. C.R.S. § 43-2-201(1)(c) provides as follows regarding public prescriptive easements: "'[a]ll roads over private lands that have been used adversely without interruption or objection on the part of the owners of such lands for twenty consecutive years' are declared to be public highways." Id. at ¶ 21. "To establish a public prescriptive easement under the section, a party must show: (1) a 'claim of right'; (2) public use adverse to the landowner's interest; (3) such use continued for the requisite twenty-year period; and (4) actual or implied knowledge of the public use by the landowner and no objection to such use." Id. (Internal citations omitted).

Interestingly, although the Court found that the 20-year prescriptive easement began in 1927, the Court considered evidence from as far back as 1879 concerning the public claim of right factor. Id. at ¶ 31.

In addition, as the trial court's dismissal of GHDC's express easement claim was upheld by the Colorado Court of Appeals, express easements were thoroughly discussed in the decision. See Id. at ¶ 47-51.

A link to the decision can be found here.

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