Kallash Revocable Inter Vivos Trust v. Sean T. Fitzsimmons

Troy, Missouri real property lawyers represented the Plaintiff and Defendant in a real property easement rights case.

This case highlights the tension between the property rights of parties who hold easements entitling them to particular uses of land they do not own, and the rights of the owners of such land encumbered by such easements. Specifically, this dispute concerns the use of a 70-foot-wide easement (Easement) benefitting a land-locked property owned by the Dennis Robert Kallash Revocable Inter Vivos Trust Indenture dated October 10, 1997 (Appellant), with Dennis Kallash (Kallash) as the trustee. The Easement crosses property owned and occupied by Sean T. Fitzsimmons (Fitzsimmons) and Stacie S. Fitzsimmons (collectively, Respondents), upon which Respondents had built a number of permanent structures. The trial court found the Easement was non-exclusive and was intended for ingress and egress, including the installation of utilities. The trial court additionally found Appellant had shown reasonable use sufficient to pass over at least half of the Easement and therefore required Respondents to remove some, but not all, of the obstructions in the Easement. We find the trial court's order to remove specific items is unclear, inconsistent, and unsupported by substantial evidence.

Affirmed in part and reversed in part.