Also known as: prescriptive periods · prescription period · period of prescription
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The period of time fixed by local law as sufficient for obtaining easements by prescription against the owner of a present interest. The period requires continuous and uninterrupted adverse use throughout its duration.
Pavel Petrov's neighbors crossed the corner of his vacant lot daily for twenty years to reach a public beach. Their foot traffic wore a visible dirt path without any permission or objection from Pavel. The court recognizes the easement because the use satisfied the continuous and uninterrupted requirement for the full prescriptive period.
Patrick Phan began driving across a gravel path on a neighboring lot to reach his facility. Five years later he sold the dominant parcel to Piper Patel, who continued the identical daily crossings. The periods combine because the transfer created privity between the successive users, allowing the full prescriptive period to be satisfied.
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Pedro Pacheco erected a fence and parked vehicles on a strip of land subject to an existing access easement. The servient owner maintained this adverse use without interruption for the full prescriptive period. The original easement is extinguished because the adverse use satisfied the continuous and uninterrupted requirement.
Paul Peterson used a path across an adjacent parcel for eight years. He then conveyed his property to Peter Park, who continued the same weekly crossings for another ten years. The periods add together because the deed transfer established privity between the successive adverse users.
The use must be adverse, open or notorious, and continued without effective interruption for the entire prescriptive period. Continuous and uninterrupted use satisfies the duration requirement under the governing standard.
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Periods of prescriptive use may be tacked together if there is a transfer between the prescriptive users of either the inchoate servitude or the estate benefited by the inchoate servitude. Privity between successive adverse users permits addition of the periods.
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The period of prescription does not commence to run before the future interest becomes a present interest. The clock begins only when the owner of the future interest gains the right to present possession.
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Brief and infrequent interruptions do not break continuity if the overall pattern of regular use continues for the full prescriptive period. The law examines the substance of the use over time rather than requiring perfect daily access without any interference.
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…on the 16.31 acres prior to 1906. “Since a person cannot claim adversely to himself, the courts uniformly maintain that the prescriptive period does not begin to run while the dominant and servient tracts are under the same ownership.” 17 Am. Jur., Easements, Sec. 69, p. 980. It follows that the judgment of the Court of Civil…