Possible options with "telephone" pole & wires with no underlying easement
Mel Knight
and telephone lines connected which cross my property but which do not
serve my home.
The title company report shows nothing of the sort and a discussion with
them by phone shows no record of easements in that area.
After a week on the phone (off and on) with PG&E, they just now told me
to write a letter stating the 'conflict' (their words, not mine) and what
I'd like the resolution to be.
When I asked what are the available 'resolutions' they wouldn't tell me.
Do you have any experience in this area to advise me of what possible
'resolutions' would entail?
fredf...@yahoo.com
I have no experience of that sort.
I do have a question:
What do you want, action, money, to preserve your rights for the
future?
--
FF
AMM
On Jan 12, 7:48 pm, Mel Knight <Melb...@aol.com> wrote:
> I just found what appears to be an wood pole on my property with power
> and telephone lines connected which cross my property but which do not
> serve my home.
Are you saying that you didn't inspect the property
when you bought it, or that PG&E put the pole in
when you weren't looking? Are we talking about
10,000 acres of wilderness, or a 1/4 or 1/2 acre
residential lot?
> The title company report shows nothing of the sort and a discussion with
> them by phone shows no record of easements in that area.
It doesn't mean there isn't an easement.
PG&E is unlikely to have put up lines without
an easement. IMHO, it's more likely that
the title company wasn't worrying about utility
easements when they searched the land
records -- AFAIK easements for existing power lines
aren't the sort of thing they usually insure against.
> After a week on the phone (off and on) with PG&E, they just now told me
> to write a letter stating the 'conflict' (their words, not mine) and what
> I'd like the resolution to be.
A good question. Why is this pole, which you only
just now noticed, suddently such a problem for you?
And as you consider what you want, keep
in mind that, even if PG&E in fact doesn't
have an easement, if you make yourself
enough of a nuisance, they can always go
to court to force you to give them one
for whatever the court considers
a reasonable price.
Mike
> On Jan 12, 7:48 pm, Mel Knight<Melb...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> and telephone lines connected which cross my property but which do not
>> serve my home.
>>
>> The title company report shows nothing of the sort and a discussion with
>> them by phone shows no record of easements in that area.
>>
>> After a week on the phone (off and on) with PG&E, they just now told me
>> to write a letter stating the 'conflict' (their words, not mine) and what
>> I'd like the resolution to be.
>>
>> When I asked what are the available 'resolutions' they wouldn't tell me.
>
> spoke with probably isn't a lawyer.
>
>> Do you have any experience in this area to advise me of what possible
>> 'resolutions' would entail?
>
> damages for trespass and removal of the pole and lines.
>
> But for pete's sake, stop being coy. What do you want from PG&E?
The OP doesn't state any time frame but could there be a possible
"adverse possession easement" (as opposed to simply "adverse
possession", where PG&E would own the land outright) if the pole's been
there long enough? Of course I realize it's also locale-specific as to
the laws but generally, could such an easement occur?
mm
<miatt...@gmail.com> wrote:
>....
>I doubt this is a reasonable possibility. You may be thinking of the
>state's power of eminent domain, which enables the government to take
>private property for public use. But it would be a real stretch for
>the power of eminent domain to extend to this situation. Of course,
>there could be some other enabling statute in California. If there
>is, I'm sure you'll correct me and cite it.
>
>In addition, it would probably be cheaper for PG&E to buy an easement
>from OP (or his neighbor, and re-route the line) than to litigate an
>eminent domain type action to a conclusion.
But what if none will sell?
I too thought that utilities could force an easement on a property
owner if it was the only way, or the only reasonably priced way to
reach a home or buisness. In the same way a landlocked property owner
has a right to a driveway easement to drive in and out of his property
to the road. What am I missing?
--
If I don't say otherwise, the location is probably Maryland.
Posters should say what U,S. state if any they live in. Why
do so many keep their state as secret as their own name?
IANAL. That is, I am not a lawyer.
Stuart A. Bronstein
> As for OP's situation, I think PG&E is a private company.
It's a private company, but is regulated. As a result it is
generally thought of as a public utility. I don't know if they have
the power to force an easement, but I wouldn't be surprised if they
did, under the supervision of the Pubic Utilities Commission.