O'Donovan v. McIntosh

McIntosh sold his property to Huggins (defendant) in 1989 while reserving a right-of-way easement over it to access nearby land, known as the Fish property, that he had once optioned for development; the deed described the easement as "for the benefit of the Grantor and his heirs and assigns," limited to those who would build on or occupy the Fish property, and incorporated a side agreement binding subsequent owners of the easement and barring Huggins from opposing Fish-property development. In 1995, O'Donovan (plaintiff) bought both the Fish property and McIntosh's easement, but when O'Donovan's development company sought subdivision approval, the town suspended the application over uncertainty whether the easement could be transferred at all; O'Donovan sought a declaratory judgment confirming its transferability, and the trial court, ruling the easement nonassignable, granted Huggins summary judgment.