Cater & another v. Bednarek & others, trustees, & others.

This case involved a parcel of land on a hill overlooking Cape Code Bay in the town of Truro with no frontage on any street. The parcel, however, had the benefit of an unspecified easement conveyed in an 1899 deed that provided a "right of way" to reach a nearby road. Plaintiffs filed suit in the Land Court to confirm the validity of the easement and to establish its precise location and characteristics. The court concluded that the Land Court judge did not err in concluding that the easement had not been extinguished by estoppel. But the court also concluded that the judge did err in limiting the width of the finished surface of any roadway built within the easement to twelve feet where the roadway must conform to the town's rules and regulations governing the subdivision of land, which required that the minimum width of a roadway for a single-family residence be at least fourteen feet and allow no waiver of this requirement. Therefore, the court vacated the judgment and remanded the case to the Land Court for further proceedings. View "Cater & another v. Bednarek & others, trustees, & others." on Justia Law