Also known as: express grants · express conveyance
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A method of creating an easement through a written conveyance that meets the formal requirements for transferring an interest in land. The writing must be signed by the grantor and satisfy the Statute of Frauds unless the easement duration falls outside its coverage.
Evelyn Ellison owns Blackacre and signs a deed granting Erika Echevarria a right of way across the north edge of Blackacre for access to Whiteacre. The deed is properly executed and recorded. Erika receives an easement by express grant that runs with Whiteacre upon any later sale of that parcel.
Eugene Ellsworth holds copyrights in several works and challenges a statute extending their terms. The extension functions as an express grant of additional exclusive rights for a defined period. The Court upholds the grant because it falls within Congress's enumerated power to secure rights for limited times.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Elena Estrada purchases parcel B benefiting from an express grant of a private road easement across parcel A. She later acquires adjacent parcel C and begins using the easement to reach both parcels. The court enjoins the expanded use because the express grant benefits only the original dominant estate.
Ewan Eckhart holds an easement in gross over an alley for client drop-offs. He later buys a narrow strip of the alley for parking only. Because the purchased strip does not permit the full scope of drop-off uses authorized by the easement, the express grant remains in force over the remaining alley area.
The grant must be in a writing signed by the grantor that satisfies the Statute of Frauds. Short-duration easements may fall outside the statute in some states. The Restatement requires the conveyance to meet the same formal requisites as a conveyance of an estate in land of like duration.
Supporting sources
An express grant arises from the language of a deed or other writing. Implied easements arise from circumstances of a conveyance without explicit language. Prescriptive easements arise from long-continued adverse use. The express method requires a signed writing meeting statutory formalities.
Supporting sources
No. The scope of an express grant is determined from the terms of the creating instrument. Use that extends the easement to an additional parcel exceeds the grant and may be enjoined. Courts construe the grant to give effect to the parties' intent at the time of creation.
Supporting sources
…copyrights, unsupported by any consideration of the public interest, frustrate the central purpose of the Clause. VII The express grant of a perpetual copyright would unquestionably violate the textual requirement that the authors' exclusive rights be only "for limited Times." Whether the extraordinary length of the grants…