Minnesota Lake Access Easements
Minnesota Lake Access Easements
The Minnesota Supreme Court has defined an easement to be:
an interest in land possessed by another which entitles the grantee of the interest to a limited use or enjoyment of that land.
Larson v. State, 790 N.W.2d 700, 704 (Minn. 2010) (quoting Scherger, 575 N.W.2d at 580).
However, the term easement can also be used in reference to:
- the document which creates an easement interest in land possessed by another, or
- the area of land in which the easement rights have been created.
Minnesota Lake Access Easements
While easements can be used for a variety of purposes, one of the more common types of easements in Minnesota is a lake access easement – which is designed to provide access to a lake or other body of water to parties who do not own real property adjacent to a certain body of water, and are otherwise without access to that body of water.
Types of Lake Access Easements
Lake access easements can be used to provide certain access rights to a lake or other body of water for the benefit of one or more persons who do not own the real property adjacent to that body of water, pursuant to either a driveway, a private road, or even just a footpath.
Minnesota Lake Access Easements – Documents
Lake access easements are often created by the execution of a written document.
Lake Access Easement Agreement
Perhaps the best type of document which may be used to create a lake access easements is an Easement Agreement – which would be signed by the owners of both the benefited parcel which is granted lake access, and the burdened parcel subject to the lake access easement.
However, lake access easements may also be created by a judicial decree signed by a judge, or by real estate Deed of Conveyance which would only be signed by the owner(s) of the burdened parcel.
Minnesota lake access easements may be created in real estate Deeds of Conveyance by either a grant made to another person, or by a reservation by the deed grantor, of certain interests in land.
Minnesota Lake Access Easements – By Prescription
Lake access easements may also be created by prescription – which can arise by the continuous use of another person’s land for 15 years in an open and hostile manner in order to obtain access to a lake or other body of water by a party who does not own the real property adjacent to the body of water.
However, Minnesota lake access easements cannot be obtained by prescription over Torrens property – otherwise known as registered property.
Therefore, prescriptive Minnesota lake access easements may only be obtained over real property which offers the abstract form of title evidence.
Lake access easements which were originally obtained by prescription would not appear in the public records unless and until such easements have been confirmed by the issuance of a judicial order declaring that such prescriptive easements have been established.
Lake Access Easements – General Drafting Rules
The drafting of Easement Agreements or real estate Deeds of Conveyance creating or reserving Minnesota lake access easements is not a job for the do-it-yourselfer.
All documents creating Minnesota lake access easements should be drafted by a Minnesota licensed real estate attorney.
Minnesota Lake Access Easements – Basic Elements
Properly drafted documents creating lake access easements should be in writing, and should contain all of the following elements:
- The proper names of all of the interested parties.
A Minnesota real estate attorney or Title Company should be retained in order to perform an examination of the real estate title records with respect to the burdened parcel in order to determine the identity of all persons who are necessary parties with respect to the Minnesota lake access easement document – which may include lienholders, mortgagees, and other persons holding some form of encumbrance.
- The proper legal description of the burdened parcel – the parcel which will be subject to the easement – should be provided by a Minnesota licensed surveyor if such a legal description has not been obtained from a previously recorded document.
- The proper legal description of the benefited parcel should be identified if the lake access easements to be created will be appurtenant easements which benefit one or more particular parcels of land – and should be provided by a Minnesota licensed surveyor if such legal descriptions have not been obtained from a previously recorded document.
- The proper legal description of the easement parcel itself – which should be obtained from a Minnesota licensed surveyor.
- A precise identification of the scope of the lake access easement, its purpose, and the relative rights and obligations of the parties to the easement.
- The duration of the Minnesota lake access easement.
While many Minnesota lake access easements are perpetual and “run with the land”, easements can also be limited in duration.
- Whether the permitted usage of the benefited parcel by the owner(s) of lake access easements is to be exclusive.
If parties other than the owner(s) of the benefited parcel can enjoy the use of the identified easement, the lake access easement will be nonexclusive.
If the owner of the benefited parcel retains the right to the use of the easement parcel, the lake access easement will be nonexclusive.
Lake Access Easements – Optional Elements
Since Minnesota lake access easements can be very flexible, consideration should be given to including some or all of the following optional elements in the easement document:
- Any limitations or restrictions on the use of the easement parcel – such as a prohibition against the parking of motor vehicles, the use of large vehicles, or the use of any vehicles on the easement parcel;
- Other limitations or restrictions on the use of the easement parcel – such as specific hours when the easement parcel can be used, or a prohibition against commercial usage of the Minnesota lake access easement;
- Any specific lake access or affirmative usage rights.
- Maintenance provisions for the easement parcel.
While an identification of the parties responsible for maintaining Minnesota lake access easements is not a legal requirement, it is perhaps advisable to identify those parties who will be responsible to cut the grass within the easement parcel, remove snow from the easement parcel, maintain a road, or otherwise perform maintenance functions relating to the easement parcel.
- Insurance and indemnification provisions with respect to the easement parcel, if appropriate.
- Remedies in the event that the terms of Minnesota lake access easements are not complied with – such as the failure to pay a share of maintenance costs.
Minnesota Lake Access Easements – Unambiguous Terms
The scope of Minnesota lake access easements created by express grant are determined entirely by the terms of the documents creating the easements.
In 1968, the Minnesota Supreme Court identified that:
“if the easement is granted in terms which clearly and specifically allow or deny . . . [a particular] use, the language of the instrument creating the right will control.”
Farnes v. Lane, 281 Minn. 222, 161 N.W.2d 297, Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1968.
Lake Access Easements – Extrinsic Evidence
In 2010, the Minnesota Court of Appeals identified that:
“When intent is expressed in unambiguous terms, Courts give effect to the plain and ordinary meaning of the terms.
If however, an agreement is susceptible to more than one reasonable interpretation, it is ambiguous, and extrinsic evidence may be considered to interpret its meaning.”
Haissig v. Odom, Minn. Ct. Appeals – unpublished 2010 WL 4944623
Minnesota Lake Access Easements – Ambiguous Terms
In general, Minnesota lake access easements which have clear and specific terms are less likely to create problems than easements which contain ambiguous terms.
Minnesota lake access easements which are ambiguous are subject to interpretation by the courts – which can be expensive for the parties, and unpredictable.
Access Easements – Ingress and Egress to the Lake
Many Minnesota lake access easements merely provide for “ingress and egress to the lake”.
How do you like that for a description?
Such easements are by definition ambiguous – since they do not further identify any of the particulars regarding the permitted uses, or any prohibited uses, of the easement.
Minnesota Lake Access Easements – Right to Install a Dock
In the Farnes court decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court was petitioned to determine whether an access easement for a right-of-way to a lake also included the right to install a dock – since the language in the easement agreement was silent as to whether a dock could be installed.
The Minnesota Supreme Court determined that the language in the Farnes easement was ambiguous and uncertain, and therefore, general principles of law relating to ambiguous writings applied:
“extrinsic evidence may be considered relating to the facts particular to the particular easement involved on the assumption that the grantor intended to permit a use of the easement which was reasonable under the circumstances and the grantee expected to enjoy the use to the fullest extent consistent with its purpose.”
Farnes v. Lane, 281 Minn. 222, 161 N.W.2d 297, Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1968.
Lake Access Easements – Types of Ambiguity
Minnesota lake access easements which are found to be ambiguous may be classified as one of two types:
- Patent ambiguity – the use of imprecise or contrary language in the grant of the easement; or
- Latent ambiguity – when the grant of the easement involves the omission of a physical dimension of the easement – such as its width or location – or the failure to specify the permissible burden of use on the burdened parcel.
Lake Access Easements – Document Recording
The documents creating Minnesota lake access easements should be recorded in the public real estate records against both the burdened parcel, and the benefited parcel.
If either the burdened parcel or the benefited parcel constitute registered Torrens Property, the documents creating Minnesota lake access easements can often be identified in the “Memorials” section of the Certificate of Title(s) with respect to such property or properties.
Minnesota Lake Access Easements – Conclusion
Minnesota courts have provided insufficient definitive guidance with respect to interpreting ambiguous Minnesota lake access easements.
However, Minnesota courts have provided numerous suggestions as to how such ambiguous easements are to be interpreted.
Nevertheless, many Minnesota Court of Appeals decisions have been issued in “unpublished” format, which means that such decisions do not necessarily have precedential value.
Many of the more helpful court decisions have been issued by the various District Courts across the state, which are closest to both the parties in the dispute, and the body of water at issue.
Some of these District Court disputes have even been determined by a jury.
Minnesota Easement Attorney
If you need assistance with respect to Minnesota lake access easements – either in the metro area from White Bear Lake to Lake Minnetonka, or in cabin country from Lake of the Woods to Albert Lea – contact Minnesota easement attorney Gary C. Dahle, at 763-780-8390, or gary@dahlelaw.com.
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Minnesota Easement Attorney
Gary C. Dahle – Attorney at Law
2704 Mounds View Blvd., Mounds View, MN 55112
Phone: 763-780-8390 Fax: 763-780-1735
gary@dahlelaw.com
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