Hollars v. Church of God of Apostolic Faith, Inc.
Missouri Court of Appeals
596 S.W.2d 73 (1980)
A hollow ran east-to-west through the Hollarses' (plaintiffs) property, splitting it so vehicles couldn't cross from the north side to the south side, even though a public road ran along the property's northern border. To reach the southern portion of their land, the Hollarses had been crossing the adjacent property of the Church of God of Apostolic Faith (defendant); when the church objected, the Hollarses sued for a court-ordered easement of necessity over the church's land. A Missouri statute barred easements by necessity where a public road runs through or alongside the property seeking the easement, but the trial court granted the easement anyway, and the church appealed.
Whether a court may grant a landowner an easement by necessity over a neighboring parcel when the landowner's property is a single tract and part of it is already accessible by public road.