Clients of Moore & Bogener had been using a pathway across their neighbors’ property to access the Upper Sacramento River from the early 1970s through 2014 when the neighbor constructed a ten-foot black fence, blocking the river access. The attorneys at Moore & Bogener took the matter to trial where they successfully established their clients had obtained a prescriptive easement for the pathway, requiring the neighbors to remove the fence and allow the access.
This was in large part due to the assertion at trial that the longstanding use was hostile to the neighbor as set forth in the case of Humphreys v. Blasingame (1894) 104 Cal. 40, defeating a neighborly accommodation defense. The easement must now be recorded and transfer to any future owners of the property.
