The neighbors in the house behind me have an easement over a portion
of my land, (the driveway area), allowing them to pass over my land to
reach their house.  We are obligated to keep the area unobstructed so
that they can pass through.  I need to describe the driveway:  Picture
a driveway large enough for us to park on our side, and for them to
pass through on their side.  The driveway is wide and deep, and on our
side as many as 6 cars can park on an angle.  In order for us to pull
into and out of our side we need to physically drive on "their side". 
As we reach the street, we will of course stop to look for oncoming
street traffic before turning into the street.  The neighbor claims
that we cannot do this, cannot drive on his side, that it is his, that
he will call the police, and he has threatened to alter the grading of
the driveway so that the 2 sides are uneven, thus preventing us from
using his side.  Serious screaming has occurred especially when the
unhappy coincidence occurs that one of us (or a guest) is pulling out
while he is pulling in, necessitating him to pause at the street for
the few seconds it will take us to pull out.

We "own" the land, they have an easement.  What are our rights?  (we
do not block his access intentionally, have told others never to park
in such a way as to block his access, not even for 5 minutes).

---

Request for Question Clarification by andrewxmp-ga on 24 Jul 2003 08:54 PDT

If you could post a picture someplace of the offending easement, that
would be quite enlightening.

Dear rosielola-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.

According to the "Annotated Code of Maryland", an “easement” is
described this way:

“05.04.02.02 

.02 Definitions.

(17) "Easement" means a vested or acquired right to use land other
than as a tenant, for a specific purpose, this right being held by
someone other than the owner who holds title to the land.”
https://constmail.gov.state.md.us/comar/05/05.04.02.02.htm

The MARYLAND LAND CONSERVATION CENTER describes it this way:

“Easement: A right which one person has to the land of another. It can
be created by a reservation or rights in the deed conveying the
property, by agreement, by grant, by adverse possession or by
necessary implication. Easements can be positive or negative and
appurtenant or in gross.

Positive easement: gives the easement grantee certain specified rights
to the grantor's property.

Negative easement: limits or restricts the grantor's use of the
property in order to benefit or protect the grantee or his/her
property.

Purchased easement: the landowner is paid for giving up certain rights
in his or her land.

Donated easement: the landowner gives away certain rights in return
for tax benefits.”
MARYLAND LAND CONSERVATION CENTER
http://www.conservemd.org/Conserve-Ease/gloassary/


The purpose here is to extend certain access rights to individuals
“other than the owner” – who, by the way, retains full rights to the
land to which he holds title – so that these certain persons can also
legally enjoy use the property. This is in no way intended to deprive
the owner of “his” rights through ownership or force him to relinquish
his own rights to enjoy the property that he owns and possesses.

Under normal circumstances, that is unless your neighbor’s easement is
part of a “negative easement” or “restrictive covenant” that
specifically addresses the issue of what the owner can and cannot do,
according to this definition you are certainly entitled to not only
use your own land, but to be the sole determiner of how the land is
maintained, improved or modified. Again, under normal circumstances, a
routine easement created for the purposes of reaching adjoining
property does not permit the grantee privileges to modify the
property. He could only undertake such a project at your request or
with your expressed consent. Furthermore, unless the original easement
agreement specifically says otherwise, the adoption of an easement
does not preclude the owner from entering in or remaining on the
property to which he holds a good clear deed.

So, in summary, unless this is a situation involving a Negative
easement, purchased easement or donated easement, you are most likely
entitled to the use, occupation and benefit of your own property,
taking care not to obstruct or deny your neighbor his right to
easement in the process.

Because I am not an attorney and my research cannot substitute for
legal advice, I highly recommend you contact the County Clerk’s Office
or the County Assessor’s Office to have a record search done on your
property so you can determine what type of easement or covenant
agreement your neighbor has been granted.

I hope you find that that my research exceeds your expectations. If
you have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga



INFORMATION SOURCES

COMAR – CODE OF MARYLAND REGULATIONS
https://constmail.gov.state.md.us/comar/dsd_web/comar_web/comar.htm

MARYLAND LAND CONSERVATION CENTER
http://www.conservemd.org/Conserve-Ease/gloassary/



SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

PROPERTY RIGHTS MARYLAND

EASEMENT LAWS MARYLAND

COVENANT AGREEMENT MARYLAND

OWNERS PROPERTY RIGHTS MARYLAND

Although I could have searched these sources myself - I didnt think to
do so!  I did however, locate definitions of easement on my own. But
more important to me were the interpretation and suggestions that the
researcher supplied, which will help me proceed to a solution.