John Gala owns and manages an apple orchard on 200 acres of land that he owns, which he has farmed for many years. He also owns an easement in the form of a fifty inch (50") wide dirt footpath that runs across some of his neighbor Mary's land that he uses daily to quickly reach the southern 40 acres of his orchard, which he calls the Gala Block. After several years, John concludes that the Gala apples from the Gala Block of the orchard are not being economically productive at current market prices, so he stops cultivating the Gala Block and thus stops using the footpath. He continues to cultivate the remainder of his orchard, which is planted with Honey Crisp apple trees and is very profitable in the current market. 1. After three (3) years of non-use of the footpath by John, the neighbor Mary's cows have badly eroded the footpath while grazing the grasses that had overgrown on it. Can Mary successfully claim that the easement has been terminated by abandonment? Explain why or why not, and what claims, if any, are available to John. (25 Points) 2. Suppose in addition to the facts above, after discontinuing his cultivation of the Gala Block, John leased it to a cider maker ("Big Cider Co") who tripled the production of the orchard and began using All-Terrain-Vehicles (60" wide, gas powered) on the footpath to access the orchard daily, if not multiple times daily. How would this situation affect the respective rights of John, Big Cider Co and the neighbor Mary as to the easement? Be sure to explain the rights and obligations of each party, including the lease, change in use, etc. (50 Points) 3. Suppose John instead sold the Gala Block to a developer who cleared the Gala orchard and built several apartment buildings on the 40 acre plot and installed a fence and landscaping across the footpath easement. How would this affect the rights of the developer and the neighbor Mary as to the easement? Explain. (25 Points) John Gala owns and manages an apple orchard on 200 acres of land that he owns, which he has farmed for many years. He also owns an easement in the form of a fifty inch (50") wide dirt footpath that runs across some of his neighbor Mary's land that he uses daily to quickly reach the southern 40 acres of his orchard, which he calls the Gala Block. After several years, John concludes that the Gala apples from the Gala Block of the orchard are not being economically productive at current market prices, so he stops cultivating the Gala Block and thus stops using the footpath. He continues to cultivate the remainder of his orchard, which is planted with Honey Crisp apple trees and is very profitable in the current market. 1. After three (3) years of non-use of the footpath by John, the neighbor Mary's cows have badly eroded the footpath while grazing the grasses that had overgrown on it. Can Mary successfully claim that the easement has been terminated by abandonment? Explain why or why not, and what claims, if any, are available to John. (25 Points) 2. Suppose in addition to the facts above, after discontinuing his cultivation of the Gala Block, John leased it to a cider maker ("Big Cider Co") who tripled the production of the orchard and began using All-Terrain-Vehicles (60" wide, gas powered) on the footpath to access the orchard daily, if not multiple times daily. How would this situation affect the respective rights of John, Big Cider Co and the neighbor Mary as to the easement? Be sure to explain the rights and obligations of each party, including the lease, change in use, etc. (50 Points) 3. Suppose John instead sold the Gala Block to a developer who cleared the Gala orchard and built several apartment buildings on the 40 acre plot and installed a fence and landscaping across the footpath easement. How would this affect the rights of the developer and the neighbor Mary as to the easement? Explain. (25 Points)
