Millson v. Laughlin

• Decision Date: 12 June 1958
• Docket Number: No. 217,217
• Citation: 142 A.2d 810,217 Md. 576
• Parties: , 80 A.L.R.2d 731 Florence R. MILLSON v. James W. LAUGHLIN.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

Page 576

217 Md. 576

142 A.2d 810, 80 A.L.R.2d 731

Florence R. MILLSON v. James W. LAUGHLIN.

No. 217.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

June 12, 1958.

As Modified on Denial of Reargument July 28, 1958.

William E. Brooke, Washington, D. C. (Shriver & Brooke, Washington, D. C. on the brief), for appellant.

William H. McCullough, Washington, D. C. (McCullough, Pace & McCullough, Washington, D. C., on the brief), for appellee.

Before HENDERSON, HAMMOND, PRESCOTT and HORNEY, JJ., and JOHN B. GRAY, Jr., J. Specially Assigned.

GRAY, JOHN B., Jr., J., Specially Assigned.

James W. Laughlin (Laughlin, the plaintiff or the appellee) filed a bill in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County (Marbury, J.,) against Florence R. Millson (Millson, the defendant or the appellant) and the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company for a decree declaratory of his right to relocate a pole and electric line running across his property to that of the defendant, and for an injunction to restrain her from interfering with the contemplated relocation. The defendant countered by filing a cross-bill for an injunction to restrain the plaintiff from interfering with or obstructing her right to 'keep and maintain' the pole and electric line and an old private road which had been partially relocated by the plaintiff.

The case against the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company was dismissed, and it is not a party to this appeal. The chancellor in effect ruled (i) that the defendant did not have a right of way over the old road because there was another 30-foot right of way for 'ingress, egress and regress' to her property along the westerly boundary of the Laughlin property, and (ii) that she did have an easement across the plaintiff's land for her pole and electric line, subject, however, to his right to relocate the pole and wires. The defendant appealed.

Immediately to the north of Crandall Road in Lanham, in Prince George's County, there are three tracts of land: first, the 'Sprague property,' then the 'Laughlin property,' and lastly, the 'Millson property.' The lands owned by the plaintiff and the defendant had formerly been owned by Steven C. Beebe and wife (Beebe). To the west of the 'Beebe tract' was the 'Robinette property.' An old winding private road ran from Crandall Road across the Sprague property and a tip of the Robinette property onto the Beebe tract. In 1931, Beebe established by survey and recorded among the land records the 30-foot right of way previously referred to along the westerly boundary of his property. The old road ran within the 'surveyed' right of way until it reached the Beebe tract where it veered to the east. The old road existed in its original location until 1953.

Beebe's house was located on that part of his tract now owned by the defendant. In 1930, Beebe applied for and received electric service from the Annapolis and Chesapeake Bay Power Company. Wires, poles and other equipment were erected at his expense as a private service line to his home. Two poles were placed on the Sprague property some distance east of the old road, and one pole was placed on the Beebe tract near a greenhouse south of his home. The electric line was run in a direct line from Crandall Road across the Sprague and Beebe properties to the Beebe home.

Beebe conveyed his whole tract to Harry Schuddeboom and his wife (the Schuddebooms), who continued to use the old road and the pole and electric line. In 1945, the Schuddebooms conveyed the northern part of the tract to the defendant, together with a right of way over the '30-foot right of way' contiguous to the westerly boundary line, and a right to use in common the old road, retaining the southern part of the tract for themselves, and reserving a right of way over the 'westerly 30-feet' above referred to, and a right to dedicate the 30-foot 'strip' and an additional width as a public road not exceeding 50 feet. The deed also contained the usual appurtenance clause. But there is no mention of a pole and electric line easement. The Schuddebooms built a fence along the division line between the north and south parts, and left a gate at the point where the old road crossed the southern line of the Millson property. Part of the fence extended across a portion of the surveyed 30-foot right of way. The pole near the greenhouse remained where it had always been on that part of the property retained by the Schuddebooms. In the meantime, the defendant acquired title to the pole and electric line from the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, the successor of the original power company and proceeded to keep it in repair. The Schuddebooms used the line for their own purposes but did not interfere with the maintenance of the line.

In 1951, the Schuddebooms sold their part of the tract to Virgil W. Warner and wife, who, in 1953, conveyed it to the plaintiff and his wife. The plaintiff soon discovered that the old road was not entirely confined to the 30-foot right of way along his westerly boundary line, and forthwith straightened the old road out and brought it wholly within the 30-foot strip. He claims that the new road is better than the old, and that the only effect of the change on the defendant is that she must now operate her automobile in a straight line instead of swerving onto his property. The defendant claims that the plaintiff blocked the new road on several occasions, but he denied that he did. The defendant acquiesced in the relocation until the controversy over the pole and electric line arose, but she now insists that the plaintiff should restore the old road to its original location.

The primary dispute, however, concerns the pole and electric line. When the plaintiff acquired his property, he razed the greenhouse in order to build a house on its foundation. He began negotiating with the defendant with respect to moving the pole. The plaintiff wanted to relocate the pole for several reasons: (i) he believed that the pole and the transformer on it were dangerously close to his house, (ii) the humming noise in the transformer kept his wife from sleeping, (iii) he could not borrow money to complete the house because the pole and electric line were too close, and (iv) the line passed over the location on which he wanted to erect a garage.

The bill for declaratory relief and the cross bill concerning the road result from a squabble between these two neighbors which could have been resolved by a modest amount of self-restraint and neighborly cooperation on the part of either or both of them. This not having been forthcoming, the court is now called upon to determine their respective legal rights.

The Pole Line

In order to thus decide these rights the court must first determine the nature of Millson's right with respect to the pole line. If she has a mere license to maintain and use the pole line such a license is revocable at the pleasure of the appellee and obviously he would have the right, if he so desired, to relocate the line rather than to revoke the license. On the other hand if the conveyance from the Schuddebooms to the appellant operated to grant her an easement over the land then retained by the Schuddebooms and now owned by the appellee she has an interest in the land and the appellee may not revoke. The court concludes that the appellant's deed operated to grant her by implication an easement to use the electric line extending above and across the property retained by the Schuddebooms and now owned by the appellee. This electric line had been established by the prior owner over part of his property for the benefit of the home then occupied by him and now owned by the appellant. This had been a continuous line for some years. It was apparent and it was certainly necessary to the reasonable enjoyment of a home in the country. Under these circumstances the electric line was a quasi easement during the time the two adjoining properties were owned first by Dr. Beebe and later by the Schuddebooms. Upon the severance of the two properties, the quasi easement ripened into an easement passed by implication to the appellant. Slear v. Jankiewicz, 189 Md. 18-23, 54 A.2d 137.

It is suggested that the doctrine of an implied grant incident to the deed to the appellant is negated by the express grant of an easement of travel over the 30-foot right of way. It is true that as a general rule an express grant of an easement negatives an implied grant of an easement of similar character. We think, however, that the two grants here involved are so dissimilar in character that the express easement of travel should not be held as establishing an intention on the part of the parties not to grant an easement which was clearly necessary and perfectly obvious. This court had a similar problem before it in the case of Condry v. Laurie, 184 Md. 317, 41 A.2d 66. In this case a land-locked parcel was conveyed by the owner of an entire tract. The conveyance included a license to the grantee to use a certain road during his personal ownership only of the property conveyed. Thereafter the grantee conveyed his parcel to the plaintiff and the condition subsequent terminated the express grant. It was contended that the express grant for a limited time negated an implied grant of a way of necessity. This view was adopted by Judge Henderson in his dissenting opinion but the majority held that the succeeding owners were entitled to a way of necessity which had been granted by way of implication. In Silveira v. Smith, 1926, 198 Cal. 510, 246 P. 58-61, there was a contention that because there was reserved an express easement of travel any implied easement with respect to other utilities (travel for benefit of other parcels and a landing) was not granted. The court squarely held otherwise and established the implied easements contended for. To the same effect is Nay v. Bernard, 1919, 40 Cal.App. 364, 180 P. 827. See also D'Amato v. Weiss, 141 Conn. 713, 109 A.2d 586, 589

The court concludes that ...