Property owners are often asked to grant utility easements to utility companies for the construction and maintenance of overhead electric, telephone and cable television lines and underground electric, water, and sewer, telephone, and cable television lines. However, unbeknownst to many property owners, the terms of their easement agreement may allow for the easement to be expanded to accommodate changing technologies.
In the 2008 case of Int’l Transmission v. Pine View Estates Subdivision Ass’n, the Michigan Court of Appeals (click for PDF of case) was asked to determine whether an easement agreement from the late 1940’s and early 1950’s giving Detroit Edison, and assignee International Transmission Company, the right to “construct, operate, and maintain” electrical power lines, “including the necessary H-frames, towers, fixtures, wires and equipment”, allowed for an upgrade replacement of wooden H-frame poles with single steel poles over fifty years later.
The landowners opposed the expansion of the easement. They argued that the original easement agreement didn’t grant the utility company the right to erect steel poles based on the fact that the technology didn’t even exist in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
The Court of Appeals determined that the language in the original easement agreement comprehended the replacement of wooden H-frames with steel poles, even if the technology didn’t exist at the time the agreement was executed. The Court found that the steel monopoles and high voltage wires constitute “necessary … towers … wires and equipment.”
The bottom line is that property owners should be very specific as to what rights they are granting in an easement agreement. Otherwise, they may end up giving away more than they bargained for.
This article was written by Natalie C. Najarian, Associate at Demorest Law Firm.
Good article! You should add that buyers should be well aware of the easements on any land that they plan on purchasing! Easements can be very tricky and end up ruining plans for adding on to your home, building fences to keep in pets or even prohibiting enjoying a swimming pool. A large plat with all described easements and setbacks clearly marked and highlighted should be required in most transactions.