Summary of a Recent
Judicial Development in
Landowner Liability

Property Held by Cemetery Association is "Quasi-Public" and Not Subject
to Adverse Possession/Prescriptive Easement Claims

Walt McCarter
National AgLaw Center Research Associate

Summary of Decision

In Sjuts v. Granville Cemetery Association, 719 N.W.2d 236 (Neb. 2006), the Supreme Court of Nebraska denied landowners a prescriptive easement to operate irrigation equipment over cemetery property because the property was "quasi-public" in nature and therefore immune to prescriptive easement claims.

Background

Landowners brought a quiet title action against the cemetery association seeking a prescriptive easement to operate irrigation equipment over the cemetery property. Id. at 239. The trial court granted the cemetery association's motion for summary judgment, and the landowners appealed. Id.

Arguments

Landowners argued that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the cemetery association and in denying a prescriptive easement to operate their irrigation system on cemetery property. Id. at 240.

Analysis and Holdings

After considering state cemetery association statutes and other relevant characteristics of cemetery properties, the court agreed with the lower court's reasoning that the cemetery property was of a "quasi-public" nature, so the property was afforded protection from a claim of prescriptive rights pursuant to Nebraska state law. Id. at 242. The court noted that other jurisdictions had at least suggested that adverse possession or prescriptive easement claims could be brought against cemetery property, but it did not find those cases persuasive because they did not involve discussion of cemetery association statutes similar to Nebraska's statutes. Id. at 243. The court therefore affirmed the summary judgment order in favor of the cemetery association. Id.

The case was decided on July 28, 2006.