Petersen v. Crook County

Plaintiffs appeal from a judgment declaring the existence of a public prescriptive easement in favor of defendant Crook County (the county) and private prescriptive easements in favor of intervenors along a portion of a roadway crossing plaintiffs’ property. On de novo review, we reverse.

The testimony at trial often was vague and confusing. We summarize the most persuasive evidence as follows. Plaintiffs own and reside on rural property near Prineville that they purchased in 1991. A graveled roadway of about 15 feet in width, known as Peppermint Lane, crosses plaintiffs’ property along its…