The Connecticut Supreme Court advance released an opinion about easement by necessity for utilities, which I review below. The Court also advance released an opinion about criminal law, for which I provide the official syllabus, but no review.
Easement by Necessity
Francini v. Goodspeed Airport, LLC – Fancini claimed that his right-of-way also gave him an easement by necessity to install utility lines to service his property. The Supreme Court concluded that there can be an easement by necessity for utilities in Connecticut and provided the standard for determining whether one has been established: “When an easement of physical access already exists, an expansion of that easement will be allowed so long as it is reasonably necessary for the beneficial enjoyment of the dominant estate and does not unreasonably impair the servient estate owner’s beneficial enjoyment of his or her property.” In general, “[a]n easement by necessity for utilities should be granted over an existing physical access easement when the dominant estate has a reasonable need for the utility, in accordance with the intention of the parties as to the use of the property, unless the burden interferes with that owner’s beneficial enjoyment of the property…. In the event use of the easement for utilities does impair the enjoyment of the servient estate, the court must then determine whether the need of the dominant estate is so great that the easement should still be granted or if it could be altered so as to limit the burden on the servient estate.”