Hyland v. Fonda

In Hyland v. Fonda, 44 N.J. Super. 180, 129 A.2d 899 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1957), a reservation in a deed provided a "right of ingress and egress for roadway purposes along a strip 25 feet in width along the entire northerly boundary." 129 A.2d at 901. Finding the description of the easement ambiguous, the court characterized the 25-foot reference as merely descriptive of the area over which the dominant estate was granted such a way as reasonably necessary for roadway purposes and held that the permissible use of the easement was limited to "no more of the strip than might reasonably be required as a vehicular access and egress" and not "to the absolute use at all times of a roadway actually 25 feet wide." Id. at 904. Because the current 9- to 11-foot roadway was deemed sufficient for "convenient roadway access under the circumstances then existing," id. at 905, the court reversed the trial court's order granting the owner of the dominant estate a right to increase the width of the roadway to 25 feet, a use which would have required the dismantling of a split rail fence located within the 25-foot easement area, id. at 903-05.