Declaratory Judgment Allowing Use of Easement Upheld
In Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, LLC v. ECHO Easement Corridor, LLC, No. 09-1607, the First Circuit faced a challenge to the district court's judgment in favor of the defendants in plaintiff's suit for a declaratory judgment, among other claims, that it possessed sufficient rights over an easement corridor to allow it to use the easement for the purposes of constructing, operating, and maintaining a natural gas compressor station on a property north of the easement.
As stated in the decision: "Though the Amended Easement grants ECHO broad rights over the use and placement of roads and utilities within the Easement Corridor, the fee holders carved out for themselves (and their assigns) the use of Stud Mill Road - the primary means of access to the adjacent property."
Thus, in affirming the district court's judgment in favor of the plaintiff, the court held that the language of the Amended Easement was unambiguous in reserving for plaintiff the right to use the road for the desired purposes.
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