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Marlene Moss wrote:
> Does anyone know what the pertinent legal term is to describe a 
> situation where someone has had permission to use a road for a number of 
> years and then someone wants to take that permission away...
I too am not a lawyer, but here is some info that might help.  "Adverse 
possession" is the actual occupation of a property, as opposed to merely 
traversing it, for a number of years (actual number varies) after which 
title to the property can be granted to the party who openly and 
adversely occupied it.

By contrast, the right to pass over another's land is an easement.  At 
no time do the beneficiaries of an easement acquire title to the land 
they are using.  Easements can be "implied" or "express."  An express 
easement is one where there are legal documents supporting the easement 
which in turn cannot be terminated on a whim and are part of the 
recording documents for a property.  Implied easements do not result 
from the specific granting and recording of a right to traverse 
another's property.

A "prescriptive easement" is an implied easement that differs from other 
implied easements because it is "hostile", ie, without the consent of 
the true property owner.  Once they become legal, prescriptive easements 
carry the same weight as either express or other implied easements. 
Laws and regulations vary but some traits are common to most 
prescription laws. Generally, the use must be open (i.e. obvious to 
anyone), actual, continuous (i.e., uninterrupted for the entire required 
time period), and adverse to the rights of the true property owner. The 
use also generally must be hostile and notorious (i.e., known to 
others). Usually the use does not have to be by only one party.

The period of continuous use for a prescriptive easement to become 
binding varies widely.  Before they become legally binding, they hold no 
weight at all and are broken by the owner acting to defend his ownership 
rights.  If the owner does this at any time during the required time 
period, the hostile use will end, claims on adverse possession rights 
are voided, and the continuous use time period resets to zero.  That's 
why the insurance company mentioned by Ed closed the right-of-way 
through its building once every seven years.

Because you said you "...had permission to use a road for a number of 
years", it does not sound like your easement was prescriptive.  In some 
jurisdictions, if the use is not hostile but given actual or implied 
consent by the legal property owner, in your case the previous owner, 
the prescriptive easement may become a regular or implied easement 
rather than a prescriptive easement and immediately becomes binding. 
Perversely, in other jurisdictions, such permission immediately converts 
the easement into a terminable license, or restarts the time for 
obtaining a prescriptive easement.  You need to know which is true in 
your area to know if you have any recourse against the new property 
owner.  Here are two Internet documents that might be of use:

http://www.masterslawfirm.com/Easement1.htm#19
http://www.masterslawfirm.com/Easement2.htm

> So I’m hoping I can show to him that our permission is sufficiently 
> dated that he really can’t refuse our ability to ride through...

As you can see from the above, it's not just the time but the "flavor" 
of the easement that determines your rights.

Good luck and don't tarry.  Even if you have an implied easement, 
non-use might void it.


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