Easement

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WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: Joseph Ebert, et al. v. Innswood Whitetails, LLC, et al.

Case No.: 2018AP2459

Officials: Blanchard, Kloppenburg and Graham, JJ.

Focus: Easement

This is an appeal of a final judgment resolving property disputes between the owners of two adjacent parcels of land in Monroe County. The parties dispute the location of a portion of an easement, as well as the width of the entire easement. They also dispute the boundary line between their parcels.

Joseph, Dale, Arlis, and Ronald Ebert (the “Eberts”) contend that the circuit court erred by “relocating” the southern terminus of the eastern fork of the easement (which we refer to as the “disputed portion”), and by “limiting” the entire easement’s width. We conclude that the court did not erroneously exercise its discretion when it established the location of the disputed portion of the easement and the entire easement’s width.

The Eberts also contend that the circuit court erred by relieving Innswood Whitetails, LLC and Frank Rasch (collectively, “Rasch”) of their unambiguous stipulation that the “historic fence line” would be the property boundary. We agree that the court erred by diverging from the unambiguous stipulation between the parties when it set the boundary line between the parcels. Accordingly, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand to the circuit court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.