Interior Trails Preservation Coalition v. Swope
Supreme Court of Alaska
115 P.3d 527 (2005)
Greg and Donna Swope (defendants) bought land near the Skyline Ridge Trail in 1997 and later barricaded it with a no-trespassing sign after seeing frequent public crossings. In 2002, local residents formed the nonprofit Interior Trails Preservation Coalition (the Coalition) (plaintiff) to keep recreational trails public, and the Coalition sued to establish a public prescriptive easement, arguing the public had used the land since the 1950s. The superior court dismissed, ruling the Coalition lacked standing and hadn't itself existed for the ten years of continuous use required to establish a prescriptive easement; the Coalition's reconsideration motion was denied, and the Alaska Supreme Court granted review.
Whether a corporation may bring an action to establish a public prescriptive easement even though the corporation itself has not existed for the period necessary to establish the easement through continuous use.