Martha's Vineyard Land Bank Comm'n v. Taylor

The defendant trust claims a prescriptive easement across the plaintiff's property. After a bench trial in this declaratory judgment action brought by the plaintiff, a judge of the Land Court found the trust had failed to show that its use of the land was notorious, as is required for establishment of such an easement. We affirm the judgment.

Background. Steamboat Landing4 (the property) is a remote, undeveloped, cliffside parcel in Aquinnah, on Martha's Vineyard.5 It is owned by the plaintiff, Martha's Vineyard Land Bank Commission (Land Bank), which acquired it in 2011. The property…