Ledley v. D.J. & N.A. Management, Ltd.

• Decision Date: 10 June 1996
• Citation: Ledley v. D.J. & N.A. Management, Ltd., 643 N.Y.S.2d 675, 228 A.D.2d 482 (N.Y. App. Div. 1996)
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
• Parties: Daniel J. LEDLEY, et al., Respondents-Appellants, v. D.J. & N.A. MANAGEMENT, LTD., Appellant-Respondent.

Page 675

643 N.Y.S.2d 675

228 A.D.2d 482

Daniel J. LEDLEY, et al., Respondents-Appellants, v.D.J. & N.A. MANAGEMENT, LTD., Appellant-Respondent.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division Second Department.

June 10, 1996.

Kleinman, Saltzman & Goodfriend, P.C., West Nyack (Ronald W. Weiner, of counsel), for appellant-respondent.

Stephens & Hogan, Brewster (Willis H. Stephens, Jr., of counsel), for respondents-appellants.

Before MILLER, J.P., and RITTER, KRAUSMAN and McGINITY, JJ.

MEMORANDUM BY THE COURT.

In an action pursuant to RPAPL article 15 to compel determination of a claim to real property, the defendant appeals, as limited by its brief, from stated portions of an order and judgment (one paper) of the Supreme Court, Putnam County(Hickman, J.), entered January 12, 1995, which, inter alia, adjudged that the plaintiffs' property is benefited by an "express easement encumbering defendant's property seventeen (17') feet in width; the easterly boundary of which runs along the entire westerly property line of the plaintiff's property", and the plaintiffs cross-appeal from so much of the same order and judgment as denied them prescriptive rights in the defendant's property.

ORDERED that the order and judgment is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.

The parties to this litigation own adjoining parcels of land in Brewster, which originated from a common grantor.In the original grant the plaintiffs' parcel was granted an easement providing the plaintiffs' predecessors-in-interest the "right to pass and repass over the right-of-way across the adjoining lands" of the grantor.At the time of the original grant the only available right-of-way was along the easterly border of the defendant's property and the extent of the right-of-way was limited by a structure then existing on the defendant's parcel about 17 feet from the border, at its closest point.Insofar as a grantor of an easement may create an extensive or limited easement (see, Morgan v. Bolsan Realty Corp., 48 A.D.2d 331, 333, 369 N.Y.S.2d 544), the extent of an easement claimed is to be determined by the language of the grant (see, Phillips v. Jacobsen, 117 A.D.2d 785, 786, 499 N.Y.S.2d 428).Moreover, the terms of the grant are to be construed most strongly against the grantor in ascertaining the extent of the easement (see, Circuit City Stores v. Muss, 151 A.D.2d 714, 715, 543 N.Y.S.2d 147).Here, the language of the easement is very broad and there is nothing in the grant, express or...