Also known as: dominant estates · dominant tenement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A parcel of land that benefits from an easement appurtenant over another parcel. The easement travels automatically with transfers of the benefited parcel and supports uses reasonably necessary for its convenient enjoyment.
Derek Douglas owns Blackacre and conveys an access right across his Whiteacre to Diane Dawson, who owns adjacent Greenacre. Diane uses the path daily to reach her home. When Diane sells Greenacre to Daniel Diaz, the access right passes automatically because Greenacre is the parcel benefited by the easement.
Dwight Dorsey holds an easement across Denise Donovan's ranch to reach his timber lot. After installing a modern logging truck, Dwight widens the path slightly to accommodate the vehicle. The change is permitted because it remains reasonably necessary for convenient enjoyment of the benefited parcel.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
David Dawson receives an access easement over Duffy Construction's lot to reach his single-family home. Years later David subdivides the home site into three residences. Each new owner may continue using the easement because the parties contemplated normal growth of the benefited parcel.
Dominion Capital buys a subdivided lot subject to a recorded building-height limit that benefits neighboring parcels retained by the original developer. When Dominion sells one lot to Desert Oil, the height restriction continues to bind the new owner because the restriction is appurtenant to the retained parcels.
Daniel Diaz owns a lakeside lot with an access easement across Dwight Dorsey's waterfront property. Daniel attempts to extend the path to reach a newly purchased inland parcel he also owns. The extension is denied because the easement may serve only the original benefited parcel.
Denise Donovan grants a drainage easement across her fields to allow water from Derek Douglas's upstream farm to reach a public ditch. When Derek sells the upstream farm to Diamond Manufacturing, the drainage right passes with the deed because the benefited parcel is the dominant estate.
Yes. The easement is treated as an incident of possession of the benefited parcel, so each successive possessor receives the same privileges without any new grant.
Supporting sources
No. The easement serves only the parcel identified as dominant at creation. Use for any additional land exceeds the scope and may be enjoined.
Supporting sources
Each subdivided parcel succeeds to the same easement privileges that the original owner possessed. The burden on the servient estate is not increased merely by the division.
Supporting sources
Yes. The parties are presumed to have contemplated reasonable changes in intensity or technology that accommodate normal growth of the benefited parcel, provided the servient estate suffers no unreasonable damage.
Supporting sources
…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…