Out of Home Legal: Record Your Easement.

Record your easements and record a memorandum of lease for your billboard leases.  That’s the lesson of Tiller White v Canyon Outdoor.  Here are the facts.

  • In February 2003 Glen and Rachel Knapp entered into a lease with Lockridge Outdoor Advertising Agency to place a billboard on their property..  The lease had a provision which enabled Lockridge to purchase a permanent easement for $12,000.
  • Lockridge Outdoor Advertising assigned the lease to Canyon Outdoor.
  • In May 2003 Canyon Outdoor paid a $12,000 lump sum and the Knapps and Canyon Outdoor signed an easement.  The easement did not include a legal description of the property and was not recorded.
  • In 2006 the Knapp’s sold the property to Tiller White, LLC.  They gave Tiller White a copy of the billboard lease and a warranty deed with no restrictions.  Tiller received a title report which did not disclose the easement because it was never recorded.
  • Canyon Outdoor faxed a copy of the easement to Tiller White in 2013.
  • Tiller White argued successfully in both local courts and the Idaho State Supreme Court that the easement was unenforceable because under Idaho law an unrecorded interest in land is void against subsequent purchasers who acquire title in good faith and for valuable consideration.
  • Canyon Outdoor argued that Tiller White did not do a reasonable investigation of the property because Tiller White never contacted Canyon.  The Idaho Supreme Court disagreed: “In addition to the conversation he had with Knapp about the sign, Tiller had the signed lease, he had a warranty deed free of restrictions, and he had a title policy issued by a title company that indicated that the property was free of encumbrances.  Despite Canyon Outdoor contention otherwise, the fact that Tiller did not contact Canyon Outdoor director is not dispositive.”

Insider’s take:  Recording an easement or a memorandum of lease is critical because it prevents a future landlord from arguing that your easement or lease is not valid because it was not disclosed.

[wpforms id=”9787″]


Paid Advertisement

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Comments are closed.