3. In this action, who should prevail?

The holder of an easement has a right to use a tract of land (called a servient tenement) for a special purpose, but has no right to possess and enjoy the tract of land. The owner of the servient tenement continues to have the right of full possession and enjoyment of the land, subject only to the limitation that he cannot interfere with the right of special use created in the easement holder.

An easement appurtenant is one that benefits the dominant estate and «runs with the land» and so generally transfers automatically when the dominant estate is transferred. An appurtenant easement allows property owners to access land that is only accessible through a neighbor's land.

Conversely, an easement in gross benefits an individual or a legal entity, rather than a dominant estate. The easement can be for personal use (for example, an easement to use a boat ramp) or commercial use (for example, an easement to a railroad company to build and maintain a rail line across the property). Historically, an easement in gross was neither assignable nor inheritable, but commercial easements are now freely transferable to a third party. They are divisible but must be exclusive (the original owner no longer uses it and exclusive to easement holder) and all holders of the easement must agree to divide. If subdivided, each subdivided parcel enjoys the easement.

The basic ways of creating an easement are by express grant, implication, and prescription. An easement by express grant is one that is recorded and signed by the grantor and must comply with all the formalities of a deed. An easement by prescription is similar to adverse possession. An easement by implication is created by operation of law rather than a written instrument. There are three types of easement by implication: (i) an intended easement based on a use that existed when the dominant and servient estates were severed; (ii) an easement implied from a recorded subdivision plan; and (iii) an easement by necessity.

An easement by necessity is created when the owner of a tract of land sells a part of the tract and by this division deprives one lot of access to a public road or utility line. When this happens, a right-of-way absolute necessity is created by implied grant over the lot with access to the public road or utility line.

An easement can be destroyed by merger. By definition, an easement is the right to use the lands of another for a special purpose. On this basis, the ownership of the easement and the servient tenement must be in different persons. If ownership of the two comes together in one person, the easement is extinguished. For the merger to be effective, complete unity is required. This means that the duration of the servient tenement must be equal to or longer than the duration of the dominant tenement with which it is combined. If complete unity is acquired, the easement is extinguished.

D is correct. As explained above, an easement appurtenant transfers automatically when the dominant estate is transferred. The easement granted by the businessman to the son transferred automatically at the sale of Blackacre to the friend.

A is incorrect. A merger only operates when the owner acquires both the dominant and servient estates. Here, no merger ever occurred because of the son's interest in Whiteacre. The son was the owner of Blackacre (as a result of the businessman's conveyance to him 15 years ago), but he was only a life tenant in Whiteacre. If the businessman had conveyed ownership of Blackacre AND Whiteacre to the son, then the unity of ownership in the two parcels would have constituted a merger and terminated the easement, but that is not what happened here.

B is incorrect. An easement can be extinguished by overuse or abuse. If some act is performed on either the dominant or servient tenement which is incompatible with the nature or exercise of the easement, the easement could be extinguished. Building new motel units does not overburden the easement, because the easement existed at the time the motel was created. Adding a few more rooms to the motel is not incompatible with the nature of the easement.

C is incorrect. As explained above, an easement by necessity is created when there is no other way to access a tract of land other than by creating an easement over another's property. An easement by necessity was not created here, because Blackacre could still be accessed by a road, albeit a poor, unpaved one.