Gutierrez

BACKGROUND

Factual History Gutierrez purchased land in 2004 and developed it to operate a truck-service business. The land is to the north of Singh’s property. The western border is Aloma Street, a public road running north and south. On the northern edge of Singh’s property, abutting the southern edge of the Gutierrez property, is Lawton Drive, a private road running east-west and sitting entirely on the Singh property. Lawton Drive was formerly a public road; Kern County vacated the road in 1990.

3. Until 2012, Gutierrez utilized Lawton Drive with permission to access her property from its southern edge. It was also accessible from the western edge off Aloma Street, but customers and the Gutierrez family4 generally used Lawton Drive to reach the property and business. Indeed, a servicing garage, depicted below, was built on the southern edge opening onto Lawton Drive.

Although permission to use Lawton Drive was revoked in 2012, Gutierrez and her customers and employees never stopped using it. In 2015, Gutierrez and Singh entered

4 Gutierrez’s son, Gabriel, worked at the business and testified at trial.

5 The photographic trial exhibit, Exhibit 121-2, also depicts the fence…