You could probably sue the utility company in small claims court for trespass. But even if you win, it will probably cost you a lot more than the judge would likely award, especially when it comes to the time and running around you'll need to devote to it. And remember, a judge has the power to award court costs to the losing party instead of the winning party. It happens when it appears that the lawsuit, although technically correct in law, is frivolous in nature. Unless there has been damage or very serious nuisance involved, you'd be best to forget it. Consider it to be a minor inconvenience associated with modern living and get on with more important things in life.
A utility easement is a feature of the property you own, not a loss of property. A utilty easement is a section of your property that needs to be left accessible to the utility (electric company, phone company, etc.) for service, repairs, upgrades etc. You can use the space such as erect a fence but you need to know that if the utility needs to access your easement space they have the right to move or destruct what you have erected.
No, you cannot legally refuse a utility easement on your property. Utility companies have the legal right to access your property for maintenance and installation of utility lines.
Yes, a utility company can legally compel a property owner to grant an easement through a process called eminent domain, which allows the government or certain entities to take private property for public use with fair compensation to the property owner.
Utility easement, they are common.
To determine if there is a utility easement on your property, you can check your property deed or contact your local county assessor's office for information. Utility easements are typically recorded in property records and indicate areas where utility companies have the right to access for maintenance or installation of utility lines.
Yes, because that is exactly what an easement is. The right to go onto another person's land usually for a specific and limited purpose. However, you may refuse to let the utility people go anywhere else on your property except on the exact portion of land that is covered by the easement. Such easements are usually restricted to that portion of the land so as to enable the utility to read the meter or repair damaged equipment. The terms of the deed of easement will specify where the utility can go.
The area on either side of a utility easement is generally stated in the instrument that created the easement. For example, "no structures within 15 feet of either side of the center line". Check with the title company or attorney who represented you when you purchased your property for a copy of the easement document.
You need to contact the easement department of the utility company that owns the easement and ask for a release. The utility must research the easement in their records which is sometimes a very complicated process. They may require a fee for the research and release. That fee can run in the hundreds of dollars. On the other hand they may refuse to release it at all even if it is not in use. Once they have property rights some utility companies don't let them go.
Yes, it is possible to have a utility easement removed, but it typically requires legal action and approval from the utility company and relevant authorities.
Presumptive easement occurs when the access or easement has been used for so many years it has become an established easement. The owners permission is not necessary if they allowed it to go for years without complaint.
On the property the easement is on/over? That depends on the terms of the easement given and agreed to. The most common forms of easements, utility and right of way easements the property owner pays the property taxes.
There would be no prescriptive claims in any case: licensed use is not hostile and a recorded easement presumes fair consideration.