Mason v. State

OAKS, Justice:

This controversy over the ownership of land underlying an abandoned highway across appellant’s property presents two questions: (1) When the State acquired the disputed strip by warranty deed, did it acquire a fee simple interest or only an easement? and (2) Does the abutting landowner (appellant) have a private easement along some part of the abandoned highway?

Appellant conveyed the land in question to the State by warranty deed in 1951. The deed described a strip of land across appellant’s property. Highway 191 was thereafter constructed across this strip of land. In 1976,…