Can an injunction be secured to remove an unlocked gate if there is no easement?
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Can an injunction be secured to remove an unlocked gate if there is no easement?
We have a dirt road on our property that has been used by a farmer to access farmland behind ours. There is no easement and we never gave him permission but have never tried to stop him in the 2 years we have lived
here. We told the owner of the land that we will be putting up an unlocked gate to make the road safer for our kids to ride their bikes on the road and we have also had trouble with random people driving atvs and dirt bikes down the road. His attorney is now threatening legal action against us to secure an injunction and seek attorney’s fees and costs if we erect a gate. Since there is no easement would they even be successful at securing an injunction? The owner of the farmland recently was granted an easement on our neighbor’s property for access to his property and he is currently constructing a driveway on this easement but until it’s finished he wants to continue using our road for his purposes and the farmers as well as no gate erected.
Asked on September 28, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Idaho
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
No, he has no basis for any legal action, and if he tries, you could countersue for abuse of process and seek legal fees for his bringing a frivolous action. That you voluntarily let him use the road for a time does NOT obligate you to continue doing so and does not give him any easement or other property interest or right. Without an easement, he has no right to access your property: if he goes onto it without your consent, you could press charges for trespassing. If he has an easement on another property for access to his property, then he can't even claim that access over yours is necessary. Based on what you have written, he appears to have no grounds to successfully do this.
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