Penn Bowling Recreation Center v. Hot Shoppes, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
179 F.2d 64 (1949)
When Norment Estate transferred property to Hot Shoppes (defendant) in 1938, it reserved an easement over that land for a right of way benefiting its remaining property; Penn Bowling Recreation Center (plaintiff) later bought Norment's remaining land (the dominant estate) along with an adjacent separate plot to add a restaurant to its bowling alley, then used the easement both as a parking lot and to make deliveries to the restaurant on the adjacent, non-dominant plot. Hot Shoppes built a barrier blocking the easement, arguing Penn Bowling's use exceeded the easement's proper scope, and the district court granted Hot Shoppes summary judgment; Penn Bowling appealed.
Whether an injunction is warranted when it is unclear from the record whether an easement's use is benefiting only the dominant tenement or also an adjacent, non-dominant parcel of land.