62. A public utility company is installing power lines across several counties. Will the utility company be more likely to be granted an easement appurtenant or an easement in gross?
Answer: C
The utility company will be more likely to be granted an easement in gross because it does not require ownership of real property adjacent to the property that is subject to the easement.
Easements in gross are unique in that they can be granted without the necessity of the holder owning adjacent land. This makes them particularly suitable for utility companies, which often operate across various properties and do not need to own land on either side of the easement.
A) easement appurtenant because it cannot run with the land
An easement appurtenant is tied to the land and benefits a specific parcel of property. While it does not run with the land in the sense of being a personal right, this option is incorrect because the public utility company’s situation does not involve a specific dominant tenement benefiting a servient tenement, making this option irrelevant.
B) easement appurtenant because it cannot be extinguished by merger of the dominant and servient tenements
Although easements appurtenant can be extinguished through merger, this option is incorrect in the context of the utility company’s needs. The company focuses on acquiring rights to use land for power lines rather than establishing a relationship between specific parcels, which makes the concept of merger inapplicable.
C) easement in gross because it does not require ownership of real property adjacent to the property that is subject to the easement
This is the correct answer as easements in gross allow utility companies to install and maintain power lines across multiple properties without needing to own adjacent land. This characteristic aligns perfectly with the operational requirements of a public utility.
D) easement in gross because it allows the holder of the easement to eventually gain title to the encumbered property
This option is misleading. An easement in gross does not provide a pathway for the holder to gain title to the encumbered property; it simply grants the right to use the property for a specific purpose. Therefore, this statement is incorrect in the context of utility easements.
Conclusion
The utility company is more likely to be granted an easement in gross because it allows them to operate across various properties without needing to own adjacent land. Other options either misinterpret the nature of easements or do not align with the practical needs of a utility company, making them unsuitable in this context.