Can we take legal action against someone to get money to cover the cost of fixing a dirt road on our property that they have damaged?
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Can we take legal action against someone to get money to cover the cost of fixing a dirt road on our property that they have damaged?
We have a dirt road on our property and there is no existing easement. When we moved to the property 2 yrs ago there was a farmer using the road to access land behind ours. We never told him to stop but we never gave him permission. A year later the property sold and the new owner continued leasing it to the farmer. We finally after 2 years have had enough of the large farm machinery, semi trucks, large tractors and pick-ups using the road so we put up a locked gate. At the time we put up the locked gate the owner of the property already had secured an easement through our neighbor to access his property. Our dirt road has substantial damage from all the heavy vehicles, we asked the property owner to fix it but he refused. Can we take legal action against him to get money to cover the cost of fixing the road?
Asked on October 24, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Idaho
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
No, you cannot sue him for this. Permission may be given "implicitly" as well as "explicitly." While you never formally told him he could do this, you were aware he was using your road and "never told him to stop"; you therefore allowed the use of the road. Allowing the use was giving permission; you cannot sue for what you allowed.
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