Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Here's the situation:

Nancy's property abuts a public park, except for a narrow strip between Nancy's property and the park, which serves as her neighbor's access road (to the house behind hers). The neighbor's driveway is very narrow at the top, in part because of large eucalyptus trees that have encroached upon his road (along the park side). The neighbor does not want to go to the expense of removing these trees (over 100 feet tall) because it would be extremely expensive. He has therefore widened the road a bit, to the point that it now encroaches on Nancy's property.

In the meantime, the neighbor has also complained about Nancy's occasional use of the road to deliver flagstones for patio construction (this involves a trespass of about ten feet on Nancy's part, to reach her back yard; she has a legal easement to within ten feet of the spot where stones etc. need to be delivered).

Nancy has informed the neighbor that she plans to have her lot surveyed so that she can place a fence around her backyard, bordering the access road. The neighbor said that the fire department might prohibit that, since putting a fence on her property line would make the road too narrow for a fire truck.

Nancy countered that she would consider a swap of a sliver of land for an additional ten foot easement, but the neighbor said he was not interested in such an arrangement, and it appears that he intends to try to acquire a wider road through imminent domain (rather than by cutting down his eucalyptus trees). Do you think he can do this?


Asked on 3/27/10, 3:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Of course not. First off there is no such thing as imminent domain. The term is eminent domain. Second, eminent domain is only something the government can do. It has no application between private parties.

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Answered on 4/01/10, 4:01 pm


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