Gagner v. Kittery Water District

The Gagners (plaintiffs) bought land from Warren's Realty (defendant) via a warranty deed silent on any easements, but their attorney's title search turned up earlier deeds referencing an easement in favor of the Kittery Water District (defendant), along with an unrecorded reference to a release; the chain also showed the parcel had once been split off from a larger tract whose remaining deed still referenced the easement, while the Gagners' specific parcel's prior deed did not. Rather than contact the Water District directly, the Gagners' attorney simply asked Warren's, was told the easement applied only to the other parcel, and certified the Gagners' parcel free of encumbrances; after buying the land, the Gagners discovered an actual water main running under their property, sued Warren's for breach of the warranty deed's covenants, and the trial court found the Water District's easement invalid against the Gagners' parcel, which the District appealed.