Romero v. Shih
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In the case before the Supreme Court of California, the dispute revolved around a residential driveway in Sierra Madre and raised a significant question about the law of easements. The plaintiffs, Tatana Spicakova Romero and Cesar Romero, and the defendants, Li-Chuan Shih and Tun-Jen Ko, owned neighboring properties that were previously a single parcel divided and sold in 1986. An eight-foot-wide strip of land, which belonged to the Romeros but had been used as the driveway for the Shih-Kos' home, was in dispute. The trial court concluded that the parties to the 1986 sale had intended to create an implied easement over this strip of land, allowing the Shih-Kos to continue using it as a driveway. The Court of Appeal reversed, arguing that the law prohibits a court from recognizing an implied easement that precludes the property owners from making all or most practical uses of the easement area.
The Supreme Court of California disagreed with the Court of Appeal's interpretation and held that the law does not impose such a limitation on the recognition of implied easements. The court emphasized that the evidentiary standard for recognizing an implied easement is a high one, and it will naturally be more difficult to meet where the nature of the easement effectively precludes the property owners from making most practical uses of the easement area. However, if there is clear evidence that the parties to the 1986 sale intended for the neighboring parcel’s preexisting use of the area to continue after separation of title, the law obligates courts to give effect to that intent. The court reversed and remanded the case back to the Court of Appeal to consider whether substantial evidence supports the trial court’s finding that an implied easement existed under the circumstances of this case.
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