Summary
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment dismissing an inverse condemnation action brought by several property owners against American Transmission Company LLC and related entities. The court held that a recorded “Easement of Air, Light, and View” did not create an appurtenant easement, but did create a restrictive covenant. The court further concluded that the plaintiffs failed to establish that the restrictive covenant created a compensable property interest under takings jurisprudence.
Court
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, District IV
Jurisdiction
Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District IV
Decision date
April 2, 2026
Docket number
2025AP206
Disposition
affirmed
Questions Presented
- Whether the recorded air, light, and view document conveyed an appurtenant easement to the appellants.
- Whether the document created a restrictive covenant.
- Whether the restrictive covenant established a compensable property interest recognized under takings jurisprudence.
- Whether the appellants could maintain inverse-condemnation claims based on ATC's construction of the transmission line over the parents' property.
Holdings
- The document did not convey an appurtenant easement because it regulated how each owner could use the owner's own land but did not grant the appellants a right to enter or use the parents' property.
- The document created a restrictive covenant because it limited the permissible uses of the properties to rural residential and agricultural uses and prohibited uses that would obscure or degrade air, light, view, or rural residential character.
- The appellants failed to establish that the restrictive covenant created a compensable property interest recognized under takings jurisprudence.
- The appellants could not maintain their inverse-condemnation claims because they failed to establish the existence of a compensable property interest; therefore, the court did not need to decide whether ATC had taken that interest.
Court Document
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