Opinion
No. 141692.
January 13, 2011.
Court of Appeals No. 286525.
Summary Disposition.
Pursuant to MCR 7:302(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals on the issue of the abandonment of an easement for the reasons stated in the Court of Appeals concurring opinion and on the issue of the overburdening of a servient estate. While the Court of Appeals was correct that the plaintiffs use of the easement overburdened the servient estate, it provided no support for the proposition that such an act results in an automatic extinguishing of the easement right when the owner of the servient estate is not the complaining party. Therefore, we reinstate the decision of the Wayne Circuit Court that the plaintiff had an easement right in Harrison Road, that the defendant interfered with that right without notice and an opportunity to be heard, and that, as a consequence, the plaintiffs due process rights were violated. In addition, we remand this case to the Court of Appeals for consideration of whether the award of attorney fees under 42 USC 1988 was reasonable under all the circumstances of this case. In all other respects, leave to appeal is denied, because we are not persuaded that the remaining questions presented should be reviewed by this Court. We do not retain jurisdiction.