Rexroat v. Abatte

Plaintiff, William Rexroat, brought suit in 1978 seeking a declaratory judgment setting forth his right of access across an old roadway crossing a wooded pasture owned by Russell Thorell, the named defendant. The roadway serviced a small field on Rexroat’s land. Rexroat asserted that accessibility to the field from other than the old roadway was limited, because a stream running through his farm cut off ready access to the tract. The complaint was dismissed by the trial court.

This court reversed the trial court and remanded the case, holding that Rexroat had an implied easement of necessity…