Easements…Oh Boy!

Easement disputes are common. Most large landowners in Montana (and sometimes small landowners) will inevitably have issues with access arise. If the landowner has energy development on the property (Oil & Gas, or Renewables), then the energy leaseholder will typically need one or more rights of access. Or, in some cases, the need for access relates to a neighbor who needs to access an adjacent property.

In both cases, the landowner will want to reduce the access rights into writing and negotiate a price for granting access. In the case of an energy leaseholder, sometimes access rights are already included in the energy lease. In that case, options may be more limited when crafting the easement rights.

If the landowner chooses to grant access rights, then the grant should be specific and limited so that the easement granted minimally impacts the landowner’s property rights. Vague easements will almost certainly cause disputes down the road when the original parties to the easement are long gone, and successor owners have differing view on the scope of the easement grant. It is best to head off this type of situation, by carefully putting together the easement terms at the time the easement is granted so that there is no doubt among future landowners what the easements means.