Summary Judgement – Easement

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WI Court of Appeals – District III

Case Name: James Cobb, et al., v. Gary A. King

Case No.: 2020AP925

Officials: Stark, P.J., Hruz and Seidl, JJ.

Focus: Summary Judgement – Easement

This appeal and cross-appeal involve a dispute between two adjoining landowners—James and Judith Cobb on one side, and Gary King on the other. The Cobbs appeal the circuit court’s grant of summary judgment to King enforcing his use of an ingress and egress easement over the Cobbs’ property. King cross-appeals the court’s denial, without an evidentiary hearing, of his motion to enforce a second mediation agreement between the parties.

We conclude the circuit court properly determined that the easement conveyed a freely transferable interest to King that ran with the land and was not personal to King’s predecessors in title. We further conclude the court correctly determined that the second mediation agreement was unenforceable because it lacked material terms and was therefore too indefinite to be enforced. Finally, we conclude the court did not err in denying King’s request to conduct an evidentiary hearing regarding the terms of the second mediation agreement because no extrinsic evidence could be used to supplement the agreement. We therefore affirm in all respects.

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Derek A Hawkins is Associate Corporate Counsel, IP at Amazon.