Williams v. Green Power Ventures, LLC

Citations

• 221 Conn. App. 657

Syllabus

The plaintiffs, owners of real property in Bridgeport that is benefitted by an express easement over a neighboring property, 145 Anchorage Drive, sought, inter alia, a declaratory judgment defining the permissible uses of the easement and an injunction prohibiting the defendants, G Co., the owner of 145 Anchorage Drive; A Co.; E and A, individuals who owned or controlled G Co. and A Co.; and K Co., a building company, from interfering with their use of the right-of-way over 145 Anchorage Drive. The plaintiffs' property and 145 Anchorage Drive were originally part of a single parcel of land. In the 1920s, M, the then owner, subdivided the parcel into thirteen lots, as depicted on a map that was filed with the town clerk. Lot 13, now known as 145 Anchorage Drive, is a strip of land running from the end of Anchorage Drive to the waterfront. In 1927, M conveyed lot 4, now the plaintiffs' property, to F, the plaintiffs' predecessor in interest, pursuant to a warranty deed that included express easements providing that ''the land designated as Lot No. 13 as delineated on [the] map shall remain open as a right of way for the use and benefit of the grantee'' and that ''the land on [the] map designated as Anchorage Drive shall remain open for appropriate street purposes . . . for the use and benefit of the grantee . . . .'' The easements granted in F's deed were referenced in all of the deeds thereafter con- veying ownership of the plaintiffs' property, and all of the deeds con- veying ownership of 145 Anchorage Drive indicated that the property was subject to certain easements appurtenant to the other lots on the map. For many years, the plaintiffs and other easement holders used the right-of-way to access the waterfront, including traversing the length of 145 Anchorage Drive on foot and in motor vehicles, to park vehicles on the property, and to store and launch boats, kayaks, and paddleboards. In 2017, G Co. purchased 145 Anchorage Drive and A Co. purchased the adjacent p