Pavlik v. Consolidation Coal Co.
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
456 F.2d 378 (1972)
Pavlik (plaintiff) granted Consolidation Coal (defendant) an easement for $995 to construct and operate a coal-slurry pipeline, with a clause terminating the easement if it ceased being used for that purpose for one year; after supplying a utility for several years, Consolidation put the pipeline into inactive standby status in 1963, and it and Pavlik repeatedly executed supplemental agreements extending the one-year defeasance deadline while negotiating to remove the clause and permit other uses, but negotiations ultimately failed and extensions stopped after May 1967. The district court found the standby-ready pipeline had not truly ceased being "used," and Pavlik appealed.
Whether, if parties have expressly agreed upon conditions that will terminate an easement, that intent will be effectuated.