Apparent Easement Law and Legal Definition
An apparent easement is an easement that is self- continuing and independent of human intervention. It means an easement which can be enjoyed without an act on the part of the person entitled thereto. For instance, a paved trail, a sidewalk, and a flow of a stream are examples of apparent easement. The mere fact that a drain is concealed from casual vision does not prevent it from being an apparent easement. Where it is necessary, in implying a grant of an easement, for it to be apparent, the expression means or includes easements apparent on the premises granted, and which, on an examination of the granted premises, can be seen or ascertained to exist.
In Wiesel v. Smira, 49 R.I. 246 (R.I. 1928), the court observed that “An easement is apparent if its existence is indicated by signs which might be seen or known on a careful inspection by a person ordinarily conversant with the subject.” The court further observed that “A continuous or apparent easement is either a fixture or enjoyed by means of a fixture upon the land itself.”
