David Hamrick, Maggie Hamrick, Sue Bertram and Steve Bertram v. Tom Ward and Betsey Ward

This case presents the Court with an opportunity to provide clarity in an area of property law that has lacked clarity for some time: implied easements. For over 125 years, we have distinguished between implied easements by way of necessity (which we refer to here as “necessity easements”) and implied easements by prior use (which we refer to here as “prior use easements”). We created and have utilized the necessity easement for cases involving roadway access to previously unified, landlocked parcels. Roadways by nature are typically substantial encumbrances on property, and we accordingly…