Mikels v. Rager

In Mikels v. Rager (1991) 232 Cal. App. 3d 334, the issue was whether an offer to dedicate a road, conditionally accepted pending improvement up to county standards, created an easement. ( Id. at pp. 351-352.) The court rejected this claim, "not because we believe acceptance into the public road system is dispositive, but because the city's qualified acceptance of the offer of dedication did not result in a completed dedication of a public easement." ( Id. at p. 353.) The court pointed out that the common law contract rule that a qualified acceptance is equivalent to a rejection and counteroffer had been modified by the Act, which makes offers to dedicate irrevocable, with exceptions not here relevant. "A qualified acceptance results in an outstanding offer of dedication, which has not been revoked by operation of law and which the public entity may accept upon its conditions of acceptance being met. Until the offer of dedication is unconditionally accepted, no public interest is created." ( Id. at p. 354.)