Also known as: dominant parcel · servient parcel · dominant parcels · servient parcels · dominant and servient tenements · dominant tenement · servient tenement · dominant estate · servient estate
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Two parcels of land connected by an appurtenant easement. The dominant parcel receives the benefit of the easement while the servient parcel is subject to the corresponding burden.
Daniel Diaz owns a ranch crossed by a gravel road. When he sells the adjacent parcel to Deanna Davenport, the deed grants her an express right to use the road. Daniel's ranch is the servient parcel because its possessor remains subject to the easement.
Dominion Capital holds an easement across land owned by Dynamic Solutions for a pipeline. After a storm damages the access road used by both parties, Dominion Capital must repair the portions under its control to avoid interfering with Dynamic Solutions' use of the servient parcel.
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Diego Duarte purchases a lakeside lot that includes an easement over Dorothy Daniels' neighboring property for beach access. Dorothy's land functions as the servient parcel while Diego's lot is the dominant parcel entitled to the easement.
Dakota Industries owns land burdened by a utility easement held by Dixon Foods. Dakota Industries may plant crops and install fencing on the servient parcel so long as those activities do not unreasonably interfere with Dixon Foods' access for maintenance.
Demetrius Douglas conveys part of his farm to Diane Dawson while retaining an easement for water access. The prior pattern of use on the servient parcel before the conveyance helps determine the scope of the easement benefiting the dominant parcel.
After selling the dominant parcel to Dorothy Daniels, Daniel Diaz continues limited farming on the servient parcel. The pattern of use that develops on the servient parcel after the conveyance informs whether later changes in the dominant parcel's operations remain within the easement's scope.
An appurtenant easement typically passes to each subdivided portion of the dominant parcel so long as the total use remains within the scope of the original grant. The servient parcel remains subject to the easement as apportioned among the resulting parts.
Supporting sources
The beneficiary must repair and maintain portions of the servient estate under its control to prevent unreasonable interference or third-party liability. The servient owner generally has no reciprocal duty to repair unless joint use creates a contribution obligation.
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The servient owner may use its land in any manner that does not unreasonably interfere with the dominant parcel's enjoyment of the easement. Uses that materially increase the burden or obstruct the easement exceed this limit.
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…appeal from a judgment that denied their counterclaim for an injunction against Will and Jean Brown, plaintiffs, owners of the dominant estate. Defendants requested the injunction to prevent plaintiffs from using an easement appurtenant to gain access to a nondominant estate adjacent to the dominant estate. We reverse and remand…