APTOS — Singer/songwriter Jackson Browne, who not too long ago misplaced a authorized land dispute with neighbors to his long-time Porter Gulch Highway property, is contemplating an enchantment, in accordance with his authorized group.
Santa Cruz County Superior Courtroom Choose Timothy Volkmann dominated earlier this month on a 2019 lawsuit concerning who's allowed use of a street stretching between the 2 properties.
Plaintiffs Christopher Wheeler and Sarah Claus took Browne to courtroom initially on account of a fence arrange between their undeveloped land and Browne’s paved driveway. They mentioned Browne’s driveway had been granted within the Nineteen Sixties as an easement permitting use of the shared level of ingress and egress. The swimsuit later developed right into a case the place the choose was requested to interpret if a decades-old easement granted by an earlier proprietor really referred to a different logging street on the Wheeler-Claus property, somewhat than Browne’s driveway.
Volkmann’s ruling supported that the Browne driveway was the easement in query. Whereas Volkmann additionally critiqued the driveway’s health for authorized entry street use on account of issues about its width, slope and obtainable areas for hearth truck turnouts, he added that such points weren't below his purview to implement.
In a press release offered to the Sentinel by Browne’s authorized group of Lawrence Iser, Edward Newman and Patricia Millett, attorneys mentioned Browne all the time has taken the place that the driveway to his residence winds uphill by his property and doesn't present secure and appropriate hearth and emergency entry to serve an extra residence utilizing the driveway. Attorneys mentioned they have been gratified by Volkmann’s help for that place in his ruling and anticipated “that the County won't difficulty a constructing allow to the Wheelers based mostly on utilizing Mr. Browne’s driveway as their hearth and emergency entry.”
The attorneys’ assertion mentioned that Browne had sought to keep away from litigation by providing “substantial sums of cash both to enhance their very own present street to their constructing web site or to promote their property and construct elsewhere,” to no avail. Wheeler-Claus legal professional J. Kenneth Gorman, of Penrose, Chun & Gorman LLP, confirmed that settlement provides have been made, however that they have been thought of inadequate to convey the logging street as much as correct code.
“The case was initially all in regards to the easement and that was determined clearly in our favor,” Gorman mentioned. “Our different place from the start was that this actually mustn't have been in courtroom: This could have been one thing that was determined by county hearth and planning and zoning.”
Gorman mentioned his purchasers have been vindicated by the ruling and anticipated to proceed by the county allowing course of to hunt mitigations that might treatment the entry street’s shortcomings.
Attorneys for the plaintiff and defendant disagreed on whether or not the case ought to have been heard by a choose — because it was on this case — or by a jury. Browne’s attorneys mentioned they “respectfully imagine the Courtroom erred in denying a jury trial as to this difficulty.”
“Mr. Browne is contemplating an enchantment concerning the placement of the easement,” his authorized group wrote.