TX Bar Real Property Law 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Texas, a party claiming adverse possession without color of title must possess the land openly and adversely for at least:
- 3 years
- 5 years
- 10 years (Correct answer)
- 25 years
Correct answer: 10 years
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.026 provides a 10-year limitations period for adverse possession without color of title.
Question 2: An easement by necessity arises when:
- A party uses another's land openly for 10 years without permission
- Two neighbors orally agree to share a common driveway
- A landlocked parcel is created when a common grantor conveys part of a unified tract (Correct answer)
- A party records an easement claim in the county deed records
Correct answer: A landlocked parcel is created when a common grantor conveys part of a unified tract
An easement by necessity requires unity of prior ownership and a subsequent severance that leaves one parcel landlocked with no other access.
Question 3: For a restrictive covenant to run with the land at law, which element is NOT required?
- Intent that the covenant bind successors
- The covenant must touch and concern the land
- Privity of estate between the original parties
- The covenant must be recorded in the county deed records (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The covenant must be recorded in the county deed records
Recording is not a traditional element for a covenant to run with the land at law; intent, touch and concern, and privity are the classic common-law requirements.
Question 4: An easement appurtenant differs from an easement in gross primarily because:
- An easement appurtenant is always revocable by the grantor
- An easement appurtenant cannot be transferred without the grantor's consent
- An easement appurtenant must be expressly granted in a recorded instrument
- An easement appurtenant benefits a particular parcel of land rather than a person or entity (Correct answer)
Correct answer: An easement appurtenant benefits a particular parcel of land rather than a person or entity
An easement appurtenant is attached to and benefits a dominant estate, while an easement in gross benefits only an individual or entity rather than a parcel.
Question 5: The merger doctrine terminates an easement when:
- The easement holder stops using it for 10 years
- The easement holder executes a written release to the servient owner
- The dominant and servient estates come under common ownership (Correct answer)
- A court determines the easement is no longer necessary
Correct answer: The dominant and servient estates come under common ownership
When the dominant and servient estates merge under one owner, the easement is extinguished because one cannot hold an easement over one's own land.
Question 6: A negative easement is best described as one that:
- Allows the holder to physically enter and use the servient estate
- Can be freely revoked by the servient estate owner at any time
- Restricts the servient estate owner from doing something that would otherwise be lawful on their own land (Correct answer)
- Automatically terminates upon transfer of the dominant estate to a new owner
Correct answer: Restricts the servient estate owner from doing something that would otherwise be lawful on their own land
A negative easement prevents the servient estate owner from engaging in certain conduct rather than granting the dominant owner an affirmative right to enter.
Question 7: Which of the following is most likely classified as an easement in gross rather than an easement appurtenant?
- A right-of-way granted to the owner of an adjacent parcel to cross the grantor's land
- A utility company's right to run power lines across private property (Correct answer)
- A shared driveway agreement between neighboring landowners
- An access easement benefiting a landlocked parcel
Correct answer: A utility company's right to run power lines across private property
A utility easement benefits a company rather than a particular parcel of land, making it an easement in gross.
TX Bar Real Property Law 2
In Texas, a party claiming adverse possession without color of title must possess the land openly and adversely for at least: