Benson v. Hodgdon, 2010 VT 11

Summary

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed a declaratory judgment recognizing an old town highway across the defendants' land and identifying it with an existing lane. The court held that the defendants failed to show clear error in the trial court's location findings, that a legally created public highway could not be acquired through adverse possession or abandoned through municipal inaction, and that the declaration sufficiently clarified the parties' rights.

Holdings

1. The trial court's finding that the road described in the 1804 survey followed the existing lane was supported by credible evidence and would not be disturbed on appeal.
2. A legally existing public highway cannot be acquired through adverse possession, and municipal inaction, nonuse, or passive abandonment does not discontinue the highway; discontinuance requires an affirmative municipal act substantially complying with the statutory procedure.
3. The trial court's declaration adequately identified the highway's course, width, public status, and restrictions on inconsistent use; a new survey and additional pinning were not required.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence supported the trial court's finding that the road described in the 1804 survey existed on the defendants' land and followed the existing lane.
2. Whether the Town had abandoned the public highway and whether the defendants acquired title to it through adverse possession.
3. Whether the declaratory judgment sufficiently clarified the rights and legal relations of the parties under Vermont's Declaratory Judgments Act.

Disposition

affirmed