Also known as: prescription · prescribed · acquisitive prescription · prescriptive acquisition
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A method of acquiring an interest in land or other rights through continuous, open, and adverse use for the statutory period. The use must be actual, notorious, exclusive, and hostile under a claim of right.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Bradley Banks drove delivery trucks daily across Bianca Baker's vacant lot for twenty years without permission. When Baker erected a fence blocking the path, Banks sued to establish a right of way. The court recognized the easement because the long use satisfied all elements of prescription.
Bharat Bhatia walked across Benson Motors' rear lot every workday for the required statutory period to reach his own building. When the company installed a gate, Bhatia claimed a prescriptive easement. The court upheld the claim after finding the use met the open and continuous requirements.
Bobby Brady used a driveway on Blake Butler's property for access to his garage for the full prescriptive period. Butler later tried to revoke permission. The court granted Brady a permanent right because the use had ripened into a prescriptive easement.
Benjamin Brooks maintained an underground utility line across Beacon Bank's property for decades without objection. When the bank demanded removal, Brooks asserted a prescriptive right. The court confirmed the easement after verifying the use met every element of prescription.
Bay Area Systems hiked a trail across Brighton Manufacturing's wooded parcel for the statutory period. When the manufacturer posted no-trespassing signs, the company claimed a prescriptive right of way. The court recognized the easement based on the long, uninterrupted use.
Blake Butler parked vehicles on a portion of Bharat Bhatia's lot daily for the prescriptive period. When Bhatia sought to exclude him, Butler established a prescriptive easement. The court enforced the right after confirming the use was open, continuous, and adverse.
The claimant must prove actual, open, notorious, exclusive, continuous, and adverse use under a claim of right for the full statutory period.
Supporting sources
Prescription creates an easement or servitude while adverse possession transfers full title to the land itself.
Supporting sources
No. Use that begins with permission never becomes adverse unless the permission is clearly revoked and the use continues openly against the owner's interest.
Supporting sources
…is only to be affixed to an instrument which is complete. The commission being signed, the subsequent duty of the Secretary is prescribed by law and not to be guided by the will of the President. He is to affix the seal and to record it; these are ministerial acts imposed by law. Supposing delivery to be necessary to…