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Easement Litigation

Chicago Commercial Real Estate Attorneys Litigate Easement Disputes

Asserting essential rights and reasonable limits to commercial right-of-way

The greatest commercial property in the world is worthless without viable routes for ingress and egress. Sound economic policy argues in favor of easements allowing the unhindered flow of products and/or consumers. But what are the rights of the landowner when an easement degrades the property, diminishes its value or interferes with that landowner’s commerce? This tension in property law gives rise to numerous disputes between owners of adjacent properties. At Schwartz & Kanyock, LLC, we put more than 50 years of litigation experience to work in your easement dispute. We understand your need to obtain a swift and final resolution without irreparably harming your relationship with a neighboring business. We’re prepared to deliver positive results in disputes over:

  • The existence of an easement
  • Deed or chain of title
  • Easement versus license
  • Easement boundaries
  • Terms of use
  • Duty to maintain an easement
  • Corrections to an improperly drawn easement
  • Reverse condemnation litigation

Understanding easement law in Illinois

Commercial property owners seek and grant easements for a variety of reasons. Your business might need an easement for vehicle or foot traffic, utilities and water lines or to allow access for maintenance purposes. Just as there are many reasons for an easement, there are different types. Our easement dispute attorneys have real estate litigation experience with a broad variety of easements, such as:

  • Easement appurtenant — An easement that runs with a parcel of land and transfers automatically with that parcel
  • Easement in gross — An easement that is personal to an individual or company
  • Easement by express agreement  — An easement granted in a formal document or deed
  • Implied easement — An easement that reflects the practices of the people and the historic use of the property
  • Easement by prior use — A court remedy where property owners apparently intended to create an easement and behaved as though one existed, but never got around to memorializing it
  • Equitable easement — A remedy in cases where a landowner has mistakenly constructed an improvement that encroaches on a neighbor’s property. The court weights the relative harm in deciding whether the improvement must be removed or the builder is granted an easement.
  • Easement by prescription — An easement that arises from the use of the property without permission for a sufficiently long period of time
  • Easement of necessity — Where a locked-in property is granted access to a public road. This is not automatically granted; the court weights the needs of the landlocked party against the burden to the adjacent landowner.
  • Easement by estoppel — In cases where a property owner sells an adjacent parcel by implying that an easement exists, that owner may not later stop the buyer by claiming there is no easement in the written deed
  • Easement by eminent domain — Government may exercise its condemnation powers to create an easement on a citizen’s property if there is a public purpose, such as laying power lines or sewer pipes.

When you hit the wall in your easement dispute, call Schwartz & Kanyock, LLC

Schwartz & Kanyock, LLC finds creative solutions for businesses in easement disputes. We represent landowners throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, including Cook, DuPage and Lake counties. Call us 312-436-1442 today or contact our firm online to schedule a consultation.

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