WESTHAMPTON — A state appeals court has upheld a ruling that the town has an easement on a triangular parcel of land that connects North and Southampton roads.
The decision in the case of George and Louanne Athanasiou v. Town and Board of Selectmen of Westhampton was handed down Tuesday. The case began in land court in May 2013.
The dispute was over a parcel of land owned by the Athanasious that provides “a convenient connection” between Southampton and North Roads via an unnamed, paved road which the town has maintained with regular plowing, sanding, patching and clearing, according to court documents.
The Athanasious had originally filed a complaint in state land court seeking a declaration that they were the rightful title owners of the property. The town responded by filing a counterclaim asserting it had “acquired a prescriptive easement over the disputed area,” according to the ruling.
A lower court judge ruled that the Athanasious owned the land but that the town had an easement, which meant they had the right to use the land for a specific, limited purpose.
In the appeal, the Athanasious and their attorneys Harry L. Miles and Michael Pill, argued there was a disagreement about whether the public’s use of the disputed area for more than 20 years was sporadic or continuous and whether the town’s maintenance of the disputed area was sufficient to establish “dominion and control” by corporate action, the ruling read. The ruling disagreed with both of those points.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.