Also known as: res servientis · servient tenement · servient estate · servient land
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The land or estate burdened by a servitude. The possessor of the land remains subject to the easement or profit while the beneficiary holds the corresponding right of use.
Apex Industrial Park LLC owns land uphill from a rail spur. Its predecessor recorded an agreement allowing trucks to cross the adjacent factory lot owned by Nexus Manufacturing Corp. Nexus later threatens to block the road. The factory lot is the res serviens because its owner must permit the recorded access right that burdens the parcel.
O owns Blackacre and grants Pipeline Company an easement for a high-pressure gas line. O later grants A an easement for a road across the same land to reach Whiteacre. Blackacre is the res serviens. The beneficiaries must repair and maintain the portions under their control. The servient owner has no general duty to repair.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Rosa Ruiz conveys a parcel to Ruby Rivera while retaining an access easement over the conveyed land to reach her remaining acreage. Before the conveyance the grantor regularly drove farm equipment across the parcel. The conveyed parcel is the res serviens. Its post-conveyance owner must continue to allow the established use shown by the prior pattern.
Renee Rogers owns land subject to an electric transmission easement held by Power Company. She plants trees and builds a shed beneath the lines. The land remains the res serviens. Rogers may continue any use that does not unreasonably interfere with the company's maintenance and operation of the lines.
Robert Rivera sells a parcel to Rebecca Ross but retains an easement for access to his retained farm. After the sale Ross begins using the parcel for a larger commercial operation that increases truck traffic across the easement path. The sold parcel is the res serviens. Its owner must permit only those post-conveyance uses consistent with the original grant's scope.
Will and Jean Brown own parcel B benefited by an easement across the Voss land. They begin using the easement to reach an adjacent parcel C that they also own. The Voss land is the res serviens. Its owners may obtain an injunction preventing use of the easement to benefit the nondominant parcel.
The servient estate is the land subject to the easement or servitude. The dominant estate is the land benefited by the easement. The possessor of the servient estate must allow the permitted use while the possessor of the dominant estate holds the right to that use.
Supporting sources
Yes when the easement is appurtenant and the grant contains no contrary restriction. Each successor to a subdivided part of the dominant estate may use the servient estate in a manner consistent with the original grant. The servient owner cannot block reasonable use by the new owners of the subdivided parcels.
Supporting sources
Yes. The holder of the servient estate may make any use of the land that does not unreasonably interfere with enjoyment of the servitude. The servient owner has no general duty to repair or maintain the easement unless joint use or the terms of the servitude impose that obligation.
Supporting sources
Courts examine the language of the grant, the circumstances of the conveyance, the use made of the servient estate before and after the conveyance, and whether the use is reasonably necessary for the dominant estate. Changes in intensity are allowed if they do not unreasonably damage the servient estate or exceed the original purpose.
Supporting sources
…Reed, J.; Petrich, C.J., and Petrie, J., concur Opinion of Reed, J. Defendants, Fred and Hattie Voss, owners of the servient estate, 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…