EASEMENTS

摘要

The Trustee of a bankrupt's estate provided evidence that the paving of and addition of utility lines underneath of a road running through an Indian reservation under an easement would not unreasonably burden a servient estate. In re Schugg, 2015 WL 1505771 (D.Ariz. 2015). A privately owned parcel of app. 657 acres in Pinal County, Arizona, Section 16 is surrounded by the Gila River Indian Community ("Community") Reservation, which is 600 square miles. District 5 of the Reservation, which is app. 100 square miles, contains Section 16. The previous owners conveyed it to Michael and Debra Schugg in 2003. The Schuggs declared bankruptcy in 2004, listing Section 16 as an asset. The Community filed a proof of claim with the bankruptcy court asserting, inter alia, aboriginal title to the property. A declaratory judgment action commenced by the Trustee resulted in the transfer of the case to the district court. The district court denied the Community's claim to title, and found that the Trustee had access to Section 16 through an implied easement across the Reservation. The ruling was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.